Energy Security
Bill
“My Ministers will bring forward an Energy Bill to deliver the
transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy. This will
build on the success of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year.”
The purpose of the Bill is to:
● Deliver the commitments in the British Energy Security Strategy
and the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution to build
a more secure, homegrown energy system that is cleaner and more
affordable.
The main benefits of the Bill would be:
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● Maintaining a safe and secure energy supply and
helping to protect consumers against global price
fluctuations. We will increase our energy security by
supporting a low-carbon energy system and reducing our
dependence on gas over the long term.
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● Protecting consumers from unfair pricing. The energy
price cap is the best safety net for millions, preventing
suppliers from overcharging consumers. The Bill will enable
the extension of the price cap beyond 2023, and it will
regulate the heat networks sector.
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● Attracting billions in private investment and
supporting tens of thousands of new, skilled jobs across the
UK. Developing Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and low
carbon hydrogen will create new industries, transforming our
former industrial heartlands.
The main elements of the Bill are:
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● Introducing state-of-the-art business models for
Carbon Capture Usage and Storage transport and storage, low
carbon hydrogen and industrial carbon capture which will fire
the starting gun on new, low-carbon technologies.
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● Reducing the risk of fuel supply disruption by giving
Government the power to give directions to, require
information from, and provide financial assistance to core
fuel sector businesses to ensure resilience and continuity of
fuel supply.
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● Supporting industry to step up investment in growing
the consumer market for electric heat pumps by providing for
a new market standard and trading scheme. This will support
innovation and help to lower the costs of heat pumps over
time.
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● Appointing Ofgem as the new regulator for heat
networks, ensuring consumers get a fair price and a reliable
supply of heat.
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● Extending the energy price cap, preventing suppliers
from overcharging consumers.
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● Enabling the first ever large-scale hydrogen heating
trial, allowing us to inform the role of hydrogen in heat
decarbonisation in 2026.
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● Introducing competition in Britain’s onshore
electricity networks, encouraging investment and innovation,
and enabling savings.
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● Creating a new pro-innovation regulatory environment
for fusion energy.
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● Establishing a new Future System Operator, providing
strategic oversight across electricity and gas systems. It
will drive progress towards net zero, energy security and
minimising consumer costs.
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● Facilitating the safe, and cost-effective clean-up of
the UK's legacy nuclear sites, ensuring the UK is a
responsible nuclear state.
Territorial extent and application
● The Bill will extend and apply mainly to Great Britain, with
some provisions extending and applying across the UK.
Key facts
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● The Ten Point Plan, Net Zero Strategy and British
Energy Security Strategy are driving an unprecedented £100
billion of private sector investment in new British
industries by 2030 and supporting around 480,000 clean jobs
by the end of the decade.
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● At the Global Investment Summit in October 2021, the
Prime Minister announced a package of 18 deals to support
green growth worth £9.7 billion.
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● Between 1990 and 2019 we grew our economy by more
than three-quarters. At the same time, we cut greenhouse
emissions by over 40 per cent, faster than any other country
in the G7.
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● Renewable electricity generation has more than
quadrupled since 2010. Offshore wind has increased tenfold,
while coal has fallen by 94 per cent.
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● We must continue to make progress towards our
commitment to reduce emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 and
become net zero by 2050.
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● By extending the energy price cap beyond 2023, the
Government will be protecting 22 million households who are
on default tariffs.
