Commenting on the publication today of the Government's
Clean Power 2030 Action
Plan MP, Chair of the House of
Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, said:
“The pursuit of clean power has to mean the pursuit of secure
energy with lower bills. When President Putin launched his
full-scale invasion of Ukraine our UK energy price cap ballooned
by £1300 a year, even though Russia provided only 4% of our gas
imports. The then Government spent £44 billion of taxpayers'
money to subsidise households' energy bills, the biggest such
intervention in UK history.
“What Putin's impact on energy supplies and prices exposed
was the extraordinarily high costs of our dependence on fossil
fuels - before we even consider the costs of climate change - and
we will be hostage to geopolitical events and the ensuing price
shocks as long as that dependence lasts.
“I am encouraged by the priority Government is giving this
critical mission and look forward to the role being played by the
committee in scrutinising the detail of the action plan -
including finding potential solutions to several of the
roadblocks in the way: growing a skilled workforce, building
domestic supply chains and scaling up community energy's
contribution to meeting our Clean Power goals.
“But the key question for Government now is exactly what role gas
plays in the Clean Power Plan, what role it has in our future
energy mix - and when will we start to feel the benefits, in our
energy bills, of escaping our dependence on fossil fuel.”/ENDS
