- New figures published today show UK did not import any
Russian gas in the past 12 months
- it comes as Ofgem announce energy price cap reduction, which
is set to see average household bills fall by £430
- record renewable energy generation and rise in UK gas exports
to Europe helping to kick Putin out of energy market and power up
Britain from Britain
The UK has gone a full year without importing any Russian gas -
in a boost for the country’s energy security and blow to Putin’s
war machine.
New figures published today show the UK did not import any
Russian gas in the 12 months to end of March 2023, while UK gas
exports to Europe tripled over the same period.
It comes as Ofgem announced a reduction in the energy price cap,
which will see household bills fall by around £430.
Today’s figures also show renewables generated a record 46.2% of
UK electricity from major power producers over the past 3 months.
This is up from just 3.5% for the same period in 2010.
The decisive action taken by the UK to ban Russian gas, support
European allies and increase the amount of energy generated from
renewable sources is helping to kick Putin out of the global
energy market and drive down bills.
Energy Security Secretary said:
We have led the world in standing up to Putin’s attempts to use
energy as a weapon of war and, by slamming the door shut on
Russian gas, we are helping to cripple the Kremlin war machine
and safeguard the UK.
It’s positive households across the country will see their energy
bills fall by around £430 on average from July, marking a major
milestone in our determined efforts to halve inflation.
We spent billions to protect families when prices rose over the
winter, covering nearly half a typical household’s energy bill,
with wholesale energy prices down by over two thirds since their
peak as we’ve neutralised Putin’s blackmail.
I’m relentlessly focused on reducing our reliance on foreign
fossil fuels and powering-up Britain from Britain to deliver
cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy.
Foreign Secretary said:
Like his efforts on the battlefield, Putin’s attempts to
weaponise energy supplies are failing.
Thanks to the steps we and our allies have taken, including to
fast-forward the clean energy transition and on energy
efficiency, Russian energy revenue continues to be dented
and global prices have also fallen.
Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will continue to
undermine Putin’s ability to wage war, including by cracking down
on the circumvention of our sanctions.
Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine had a devastating effect on
global energy markets, forcing up wholesale prices and with it
the energy bills of households and businesses in the UK and
around the world.
In response, the government took swift action to shield consumers
and companies from the worst effects, paying around half a
typical household’s bill over the winter and half the wholesale
energy costs paid by some businesses.
The Powering Up
Britain plan published in March set out the UK’s
ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power
and build thriving green industries - boosting the country’s
energy security and independence and reducing household bills for
the long term.
Notes to editors
Data are from Energy Trends:
- electricity generation is shown in Table 5.4
- gas imports are shown in Table 4.4
