What should the Govt's #energysecuritystrategy have contained in terms of short-term help for people struggling with their bills? THREAD. 1/10.
https://twitter.com/newscientist/status/1513728477194862594
1. Energy efficiency
With changes to supply taking years to deliver, measures to reduce demand could have been a short-term way to support families with the higher cost of energy. Energy efficiency measures would have made an esp large difference to low-income households...2/10.
With changes to supply taking years to deliver, measures to reduce demand could have been a short-term way to support families with the higher cost of energy. Energy efficiency measures would have made an esp large difference to low-income households...2/10.
...given that 49% of the poorest 1/5 people live in homes with uninsulated walls. One obvious policy option would have been to bolster the Energy Company Obligation scheme with taxpayer funds. This would have provided highly targeted support...3/10.
...with more than 1 in 5 households in the lowest income decile eligible for ECO support, and no households in the richest decile. Instead, the Govt’s strategy relies on VAT cuts & low-cost finance: moves that will excl households without sufficient incomes or savings. 4/10.
2. More ambitious proposals for on-shore wind and solar
Bizarrely, the Govt chose to hold back on the onshore renewable energy sources that are lowest in cost & quickest to build. While unlikely to be delivered for this winter, some onshore wind & large-scale solar...5/10.
Bizarrely, the Govt chose to hold back on the onshore renewable energy sources that are lowest in cost & quickest to build. While unlikely to be delivered for this winter, some onshore wind & large-scale solar...5/10.
... projects could be commissioned in time for next winter, taking the sting out of high electricity prices. 6/10.
3. Moving energy bill costs into general taxation
We've been clamouring about this for a while now, but it makes zero sense to keep trying to fund energy infrastructure "by stealth" via energy bills. 7/10.
We've been clamouring about this for a while now, but it makes zero sense to keep trying to fund energy infrastructure "by stealth" via energy bills. 7/10.
Not only does it empower the (wholly untrue) narrative that green levies are to blame for energy price increases, it is a much less equitable method of raising funds than general taxation, which would lead to richer households footing a greater share of the bill. 8/10.
In concl, the measure outlined in the strategy will help the UK meet its 2030 electricity decarbonisation goals, but they offer little in terms of help for households facing unaffordable bills in the short term. 9/10.
The weaknesses & omissions highlighted here - combined with the Govt's scandalous decision to ramp up North Sea Oil & Gas extraction (in contravention of its own #NetZero target) - means the strategy can be judged a clear failure. 10/10.
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