To avoid energy price inflation hell, we must get serious about gas

AT the House of Commons on Monday evening, as dusk fell, there was little need for a reminder that winter will soon be upon us.

- Chris Blackhurst

Energy, which has never been far from the news bulletins these past two years, will return to the forefront, even more so now that the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread, endangering fuel supplies. It was apposite that an event was held to launch a report produced under the auspices of the Henry Jackson Society, called Natural Gas and the Energy Trilemma — Energy Security, Energy Affordability and Energy Sustainability in the United Kingdom.

Its author, Dr Helena Ivanov, said how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revealed long-standing structural problems in the UK supply system. We need a better national energy policy, pursuing the “trilemma” of security, affordability and sustainability.

Despite not being as dependent on Russia as some of its European peers, the UK was nevertheless heavily impacted by the regional supply shock. According to the Office for National Statistics, the price of electricity in the UK rose by 66.7 per cent and gas by 129.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023. Energy bills further ratcheted up inflationary pressures in goods and services and were a core driver behind the cost-of-living crisis.