Thread by @KwasiKwarteng

Please read: thread on energy security 🧵

The North Sea is our single largest source of gas, with the bulk of our imports coming from reliable Norway.
 
Unlike Europe, we're not reliant on Russian gas.
 
But like others, we are vulnerable to high prices set by markets.
 
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Firstly, the UK has no gas supply issues.

The situation we are facing is a price issue, not a security of supply issue.
 
Put simply: we have lots of gas from highly diverse and secure sources - but it is very expensive.

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Secondly, we back North Sea production.

Good for jobs, energy security, tax revenue to fund public services, and kick-starting a hydrogen economy and CCUS.
 
However, additional North Sea production won’t materially affect the wholesale price (certainly not anytime soon).

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The wholesale price of gas has *quadrupled* in UK and Europe.
 
Additional UK production won’t materially affect the wholesale market price.
 
This includes fracking – UK producers won’t sell shale gas to UK consumers below the market price. They’re not charities.
 
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So what can we do?

Yes, we’ll continue to back North Sea gas for energy security.

It would be complete madness to turn off our domestic source of gas.

But the long-term solution is obvious: gas is more expensive than renewable energy, so we need to move away from gas.

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How? 
 
Firstly, new nuclear. Needed when the the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

We are reversing 30 years of drift with the first new power station in a generation, more cash for future large projects, and our Nuclear Bill to unblock financial obstacles.

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Remember: renewables are cheaper than gas.

UK renewable capacity is up 500% since 2010 - but way more to do.

So we are accelerating renewables with annual CfD auctions.

The more cheap, clean power we generate at home, the less exposed we’ll be to global gas markets.

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Lastly, the best way to keep energy bills down is through energy efficiency upgrades so we use less gas.

In 2010, just 13% of homes were rated EPC C+, now it’s 48% - but more to do.

That’s why we are investing over £6.6billion in efficiency upgrades over this Parliament.

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Now more than ever we must focus on generating cheaper, cleaner power in Britain, for Britain.

All while helping our European allies move away from their dependency on Russian oil and gas.

This is how we become energy self-sufficient in the long-term.

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