Critics claim energy strategy ignores rising fuel bills

Critics have accused the government of failing to do enough to improve energy efficiency and reduce household bills in its recent energy strategy.

The strategy is based on expanding nuclear power, offshore wind and solar energy, but proposals to kickstart onshore wind were watered down in the face of backbench concerns, and measures to improve households’ energy efficiency were reportedly dropped after opposition from the Treasury.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitted to Sky News that the strategy was ‘more of a medium-term three, four, five-year answer’ to rising household energy bills.

Launching the strategy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘For years, governments have dodged the big decisions on energy, but not this one. We’ve got the ambition, we’ve got the plan and we are going to bring clean, affordable secure power to the people for generations to come.’

But fuel poverty charity National Energy Action warned the measures did little to address immediate needs. Chief Executive Adam Scorer said: ‘This strategy is both disappointing and incoherent. Nothing on the immediate impact of the energy crisis on struggling households. Nothing on the long-term necessity of reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels through energy efficiency. 

‘We have some of the least efficient housing stock in Europe. Householders have to use more, pay more and owe more to keep their home warm. This long-term ‘strategy’ was the perfect opportunity to set out a decade long plan to insulate people from volatile energy prices. It is silent on that crucial issue. This strategy simply does not address the crisis facing millions of struggling households. It is more than a missed opportunity. It is failure.’

Matthew Lay, National Energy Officer at trade union Unison, added: ‘To call this a strategy is a complete misnomer. It does nothing to ease the pain people are feeling now, nor to bring Britain closer to meeting its net zero targets. It’s a smokescreen covering the mistakes of the past that have left us so dangerously reliant on fossil fuels.

‘Lack of detail on how any changes will be funded is worryingly familiar. Already-squeezed consumers will likely have to fork out to make up for years of energy mismanagement. 

‘It’s totally unforgivable to have no plan for insulating Britain’s leaky housing stock, which would cut bills now and ease some of the pain being felt by millions.’

Photo by Erik Mclean