The UK government has launched its much-anticipated Energy Security Bill, which it describes as the most ambitious package of energy measures in a decade to go before parliament
The measures in the Bill are designed to attract private investment, create jobs through clean technologies and protect consumers. Among other things, the Bill focuses on measures to propel the UK’s transition to a ‘cleaner, affordable, home grown energy system.’
The Energy Security Bill, announced on 6 July 2022 as part of the Queen’s Speech, was introduced into Parliament by Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. It will help drive a £100Bn investment by 2030 into new British industries including offshore wind and hydrogen.
The Energy Secretary said, “To ensure we are no longer held hostage by rogue states and volatile markets, we must accelerate plans to build a truly clean, affordable, home-grown energy system in Britain. This is the biggest reform of our energy system in a decade.
“We’re going to slash red tape, get investment into the UK, and grab as much global market share as possible in new technologies to make this plan a reality. The measures in the Energy Security Bill will allow us to stand on our own feet again, reindustrialise our economy and protect the British people from eye-watering fossil fuel prices into the future.”
National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said, “The Energy Security Bill builds on the positive steps the Government outlined in its British Energy Security Strategy. National Grid plays a vital role at the heart of the energy transition. We look forward to continuing to work together with Government to realise its bold net zero goals, including delivering 50 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 and establishing an independent system operator and planner.”
Responding to publication of the Energy Security Bill, RenewableUK deputy chief executive Melanie Onn said, “The measures set out in the Bill will accelerate the UK’s transition to energy independence by enabling us to deploy innovative home-grown renewable technologies at scale. These proposals will help consumers by cutting expensive gas imports and replacing them with locally-generated clean power which we control.”
The proposals include the development of a new green hydrogen industry which will enable us to decarbonise sectors which have been hard to tackle so far such as transport.
“We also welcome the commitment to reduce the number of cables and substations needed to connect new offshore wind projects,” said Ms Onn. The Bill will introduce multi-purpose interconnectors as a licensable activity. This will provide certainty to investors and developers, enabling them to make decisions regarding future projects.
Ms Onn continued, “The industry is already working closely with a wide range of stakeholders to enable this key measure. Doing so will help us toattract £155Bn in private investment and create 100,000 jobs in offshore wind by 2030.
“A wide range of flexible storage technologies, including batteries, have a key role to play in strengthening the UK’s energy security, so it’s great to see a strong commitment to ramp these up, as this will boost confidence among investors. We have a golden opportunity to export worldwide, as we’re a global leader in these cutting-edge technologies.
“But to speed up this transition, we need a new approach to how the market is regulated and that should start with a net zero duty on Ofgem so that all decisions on the future of the market are aligned with our decarbonisation targets.”
