Co-conspirators will remember when Pat McFadden ordered an “immediate freeze” on government procurement cards back in early March. In February – before the so-called ‘freeze’ – Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero civil servants racked up a tidy £30,889 bill. In March, after the freeze was supposedly in effect, spending surged to £50,161. A 62% increase…
Somehow the pen-pushers managed to spaff £40,578 of that on a gift voucher company “Appreciate Group plc”. The firm offers “Love2shop Gift Card, a pre-paid gift card; Love2shop Gift Voucher, a multi-retailer voucher; Love2shop Holidays.” Taxpayer cash going up in smoke…
Last month Guido revealed staffing costs at the DESNZ had surged by £16 million since Red Ed Miliband took charge – hiring an extra 3,564 mandarins. More staff, more gift vouchers…
Guido hears a decision on zonal pricing for electricity is due imminently. It has been long-awaited…
Zonal pricing – otherwise known as locational pricing – has been the subject of a massive lobbying war between electricity suppliers. It would see the cost of electricity come from regional supply and demand so prices would vary where energy is generated and consumed. Government sources tell Guido that the decision on proposals has been taken away from Miliband and is now sitting with the Cabinet Office and No10 who will make a final decision. This is abnormal and indicates the level of concern from the top of Labour here…
DESNZ has been sitting on an internal report which stipulates that consumer costs may drop by £59 billion if plans are adopted. Guido also hears there are concerns that a large-scale change to pricing will face an immediate backlash and potentially stir more Labour backbench unrest while consumer benefits would only be delivered after the next election. No credit for that – Reform could be in…
A decision is mooted for before summer recess on 22 July. Amid rebellions and a desire for short-term wins the radical proposals are likely to be shelved. The plan for (not much) change…
UPDATE: An industry source tells Guido the government modelled the main alternative option – keeping but modifying national pricing – and it found half the benefits to bill-payers compared to the zonal model.
Labour ministers have for months been talking tough about slimming down the civil service, though the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero appears to have missed the memo. Figures quietly released show that since Red Ed took over the joint, the department has ballooned in headcount and costs…
In July 2024, DESNZ and its agencies employed 8,984 full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff, with an annual staffing cost of £65.6 million. That includes annual salaries, allowances, gold-plated pensions and consultancy fees. By April 2025, that had surged to 12,548 FTEs – an increase of 3,564 roles. The total staffing bill rose to £82 million, a hike of £16.4 million or 25%. A reminder that Reeves promised in March to cut Whitehall running costs by 15%. Running pricey net zero schemes and managing the comms fallout doesn’t come cheap…
Miliband is set to be defeated on his opposition to the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields. Humiliating…
Energy minister Michael Shanks is in Scotland today and will announce the results of the consultation on the two oil fields – which will set the precedent for future oil and gas production across the North Sea. The consultation on laws regarding greenhouse gas emissions is the result of a January ruling which claimed the projects were unlawful. It is expected to restart the approval process for them after pressure from Downing Street…
That process will take time and there is likely to be more internal fighting from anti-growth Ed. Miliband has called the Rosebank licence “climate vandalism” after all…
Rachel Reeves and the Treasury are pushing the hardest to change the rules and pave the way for more drilling projects to go ahead. DESNZ officials have already admitted that “low carbon technologies” are pushing electricity prices higher. It’s all ideology…
An advert has appeared on LinkedIn. Miliband is looking for a new communications director…
DESNZ wants someone to “promote and support the government’s mission of making Britain a clean energy superpower” as well as advising ministers and leading the departments communications efforts. Sources say outgoing communications chief James Sorene departed at the beginning of the month. Sorene was in place since 2023 and previously headed up communications at DHSC…
Guido asked DESNZ about the current situation and didn’t get anything useful by way of reply. Miliband’s department has not been getting the best press recently and its PR stunts – like hiring a fashion model to pose with heat pumps in a castle – have been roundly mocked. Can’t polish a…
For 13% of last year the taxpayer was paying for wind farms to be switched off. The National Energy System Operator’s annual report shows the grid operator paid £2.7 billion to “balance” the electricity supply and keep the wind farms switched off. This is a record. Miliband is proposing to build far more in the South of England…
Wind farms have long been constructed outside of grid constraints and it is common for them to be “constrained off.” In those cases taxpayers are on the hook twice…
Neso said in its report: “Wind curtailment is currently a major driver of balancing costs. This is because a large proportion of wind capacity in GB is connected in Scotland, which at present is a constrained region of the network.” Those damned high summer winds are also blamed…
Analysis shows that had the UK continued with gas-power systems since 2006 consumers would be approximately £220 billion better off in 2025 currency. Chance would be a fine thing…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”