Some of Britain’s biggest companies are urging the Prime Minister to “accelerate the move off oil and gas” onto technologies which run on electricity, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles.
Firms including Tesco, National Grid, Octopus Energy and EDF warn that Britain’s high electricity bills are pushing investment in projects like EV battery gigafactories and AI data centres towards other countries.
Under the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s Clean Power 2030 agenda, the Government has set a goal for clean power to meet 95 per cent of the UK’s electricity demand by 2030.
However, critics argue that the focus on cleaning up electricity generation has distracted from cutting bills and ignores the fact that transport and housing are responsible for a greater share of greenhouse emissions.
Starmer expected to announce electrification drive
A number of the UK’s leading businesses are calling for Sir Keir Starmer to pivot his net-zero strategy to greater use of electricity rather than gas or oil for things such as heating and transport, as well as for industrial use.
Proponents of electrification also argue that the technology is more efficient and versatile than burning fuel.
Advocates include the former prime minister, Sir Tony Blair, who said in his essay criticising the Government last month that ministers needed to “prioritise cheaper energy and electrification over net zero”.
Starmer has been rumoured to be planning an electrification drive as part of his fightback to stay in No 10, while his leadership rival Wes Streeting has promised to use North Sea oil and gas revenues to pay for “insulation, heat pumps and electrification to cut bills and emissions”.
As well as Tesco, National Grid and EDF, the group of businesses writing to Starmer includes the energy company E.ON and the wind power developer Ørsted.
‘Our companies invest billions of pounds’
In their letter, they say: “Between us, our companies invest billions of pounds in Britain each year, employ hundreds of thousands of people, and many of us sit at the sharp end of the transition from imported fossil fuels to domestically generated electricity.
“We need a clear strategic signal that the UK is committed to electrifying the wider economy, not just decarbonising its power.”
The letter goes on: “Electrification is the most concrete and bankable growth lever available to Britain over the next decade.
“Transport, heat and industrial processes continue to run on imported gas and oil, and that is where the country’s largest opportunities for bill reduction, energy security and industrial competitiveness sit.”
Last year, according to figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 31 per cent of emissions in the UK were from domestic transport and 22 per cent from buildings, with the latter largely driven by gas heating. In comparison, just 10 per cent came from electricity supply.
Increasing electricity demand ‘would cut bills’
The letter claims that increasing electricity demand presents an opportunity to “spread costs across a wider user base” to cut bills. “A strategy that names and addresses this – alongside grid connections, technology uptake and skills – would release investment that is already poised to flow,” it says.
“The companies signing this letter are ready to invest at the pace and scale the country needs. A clear strategy will let us do so.”
The letter was co-ordinated by Electrify Britain, a campaign group set up by energy companies Octopus UK and EDF.
Camilla Born, chief executive of Electrify Britain, said: “European leaders are outlining a vision for the future where businesses, households and community institutions are not at the mercy of rocketing fossil fuel prices.
“We need our own leaders to show similar ambition – connecting home-grown power with modern electric tech, with the prize of lower bills and greater energy security.”
She added: “Traditional technologies that run on oil and gas leave households and businesses highly exposed to volatile markets and high energy bills. By contrast, modern electric cars, heating and industrial processes are much more efficient and can run on home-grown power.”
As The i Paper reported last week, ministers have decided to water down targets for EV sales following warnings from car makers that they risked crippling the automotive industry.
Hence then, the article about household energy bills won t fall until britain embraces heat pumps was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Household energy bills won’t fall ‘until Britain embraces heat pumps’ )
Also on site :
- ‘Fix this code’—The three little words behind the U.S. government decision that shut down Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos AI models
- Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
- Snapple's New Special-Edition New York Knicks Release Is Guaranteed to Fly Off Shelves — Here's How to Get It