Energy bills may rise again without government plan to deliver 2035 clean power target, NAO warns | Climate News
The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that household bills could rise if the government continues to delay its plan to remove the electricity grid from polluting fossil fuels by 2035.
Energy officials committed to the goal nearly 18 months ago, but plans to implement it have been delayed by the energy crisis as they focus on tackling soaring bills, auditors said.
However, today they cautioned that it is unclear when the new energy department and off-grid grid will roll out a plan to decarbonize the grid, which could increase household bills even further.
Simon Bittlestone, director of value for money at NAO, warned: “The longer the government takes before finalizing its distribution plan, the greater the risk that it will not meet its energy decarbonization ambitions by next year. 2035 is bigger or doing so will cost consumers more.” learn.
He told Sky News: “Decarbonizing energy is really the backbone to achieving net zero, as we all have the ability to switch to electric vehicles and potentially use electricity to heat our homes. , but it will require an investment in change and modernization.”
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Why wind farms get paid to stop producing energy
Electricity generation accounts for 13% of emissions in the UK. About 40% of electricity is generated from fossil gas.
Although the country has decarbonized faster than any other G7 country to date, according to government data, demand for electricity will soar 60% by 2035 as the economy continues to shift direction. from fossil fuels.
Meeting that demand requires a dramatic increase in renewable wind and solar power, including the construction of three times more offshore wind capacity in eight years than in the past two decades.
Stuart Dossett, senior policy adviser at think tank Green Alliance, urged the government to prioritize lifting the effective ban on onshore winds.
“Onshore wind is one of the fastest and cheapest forms of built electricity we have,” he told Sky News.
Mr Dossett added: “The shortfall in the UK is “slowing us down from acting as quickly as we need to act to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy bills”. It’s significantly cheaper to generate than gas, and gas is what’s driving up energy prices.”
Recent UK prime ministers have changed their mind about onshore winds and Rishi Sunak’s administration is now conducting a consultation on easing rules.
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Cost to consumers
The report details how Britain’s outdated electricity grid has cost taxpayers and will only increase without a plan.
That’s because when the energy generated from a plant exceeds the demand or the amount of electricity the grid can handle, energy companies have to limit their output, which costs people money. consumer pay.
The grid also needs to be upgraded and expanded to be able to transmit electricity from where it is produced, such as in Scotland, to where it is needed, possibly in Cornwall.
The auditors warn the government must decide which technology will be used to power the UK on cloudy and windless days, including batteries for short-term energy, energy storage in longer periods such as compressed air, hydrogen from renewables and nuclear.
Read more:
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Britons pay hundreds of millions to turn off wind turbines
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said that since the energy crisis hit last year, “our focus has been on providing essential cost-of-living assistance, including paying a half of a typical household’s energy bill this winter, because this is the primary focus of homes across the country.”
They said: “We have put together world-leading blueprints, such as UK Energy Security and the Net Zero Strategy, with many already in place to ensure we are on track. to achieve the Net Zero goal by 2050”.
“Our targets are ambitious, however, we have not stopped working and our commitment to decarbonizing the UK electricity system by 2035 remains adamant.”
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