Just after midday the National Energy System Operator issued a blackout warning to UK-wide electricity generators thanks to a reduced wind speeds and outages in nuclear power stations. The first time the notice has been issued since November 2022…

Wind and solar are meeting just 10% of the grid’s electricity each as the ‘capacity notice‘ warns a power demand spike in the late afternoon could overwhelm spare capacity. NESO insists the notice is a “standard tool used to remind capacity market providers of their obligations.” Just six days ago it boasted that “small-scale renewables” have much-reduced the risk of blackout warnings this winter. Low wind and the loss of every last coal power station in Britain have delivered a harsh dose of reality to that one…

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has proudly unveiled its board of commissioners for the “2030 Clean Power Mission.” Cue a long list of people with decades of experience “fighting climate change” in wind energy, technology, reducing emissions and preserving wildlife…

Given the song and dance Labour made about building nuclear power plants in their manifesto – literally under the section “Clean Power by 2030” – you’d think they’d at least have someone who knows a thing or two about nuclear energy on the board. Not so. In fact one of the board members, Juliet Davenport, even founded an energy service company that set out why it “doesn’t want nuclear power in the UK”  because it’s a “bad match for renewables” and “benefits the few, not the many”. Davenport was still CEO when that article was published… 

Labour’s climate zealotry is pushing Britain to jeopardise its foreign policy and global standing with a plan to burn biomass imported from North Korea’s dictatorship and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Putting their climate crusade above all else…

Naturally, Nigel Farage blasted the idea as “completely nuts”. In a push for biomass to play a “significant role” in decarbonising all sectors of the economy, a resource model published late this summer sets out a list of overseas sources of bioenergy, which includes a list of “improbable” – though not impossible – countries like North Korea, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The Director of the Partnership for Policy Integrity Mary Booth slammed the “bonkers” scheme, pointing out the absurdity of potentially relying on these nations as major suppliers of agricultural and forestry biomass. Bending the knee to dictators in the name of Net Zero zealotry while Brits pick up the tab…

At a panel event yesterday evening billed for “policy nerds” the Resolution Foundation discussed Labour’s “New Economic Plan” to get growth up and emissions down. Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh was asked whether the government would institute taxpayer-funded energy bill support in Labour’s net zero transition:

“So the long-term solution for us is clean power, but we know that as we transition the question of bill support is a genuine thing… It’s interesting, you know, all the charity sector and actually most of the energy suppliers are now very aligned around a social tariff – so there was a very strong message coming into government… it is quite a coalition.”

Miatta suggested that the Labour would cave to pressure from leading social tariff campaigners like Citizens Advice, whose Chief Executive Clare Moriarty was also at the event. The organisation proposes a “cash payment to fuel poor households” from £381 to £1,500. The minister made clear plans were in the works:

“We will look at the range of options available to us… but I think we’re quite clear that we’re not going to do what the last government did which is just kick it around.”

Fahnbulleh suggested splitting the cost of the new energy benefit between the taxpayer and energy companies and hinted that the government could withdraw companies’ ability to operate if they don’t comply with new support strictures. Rely on Labour to crush the market into shape…

“I don’t think this is just a proposition for government, I think suppliers have a big role to play and when you think about other models where there is bill support there is always co-funding… so I think about the example in Holland, the example in France. I think there’s a big role for energy suppliers to be part of the solution here – they have a regulatory obligation to look after vulnerable customers. We need need to make sure that we are maximizing that – you know for me it’s a question of the licence to operate and I think showing that you are looking after all your customers and your vulnerable customers in particular.”

During her tenure as head of the Corbynite New Economics Foundation Miatta campaigned for nationalisation of the banks, “flooding the market” with nationalised energy companies, and “free basic energy” for everyone. Spending billions on bill support is a drop in the ocean compared to her stated intentions…

Ed Miliband got a bit ahead of himself today, boldly claiming that Labour had “won the argument” on green policies. The classic Corbyn defeat line…

Not only has the GB Energy bill not actually been passed in parliament yet, (nor can ministers actually say how much it will cost), the plans have so far only shown to be hugely expensive. New clean energy projects will land taxpayers with a £10 billion cost, while Net Zero Watch research suggests a loophole in Government contracts could cost households up to £180 million a year. Meanwhile, oil and gas industry leaders warn Miliband’s plans spell disaster for UK investment and jobs in the energy sector, sending the UK down a path of worrying reliance on foreign imports. All the while Labour’s much-feared capital gains tax raid is deterring green energy investors, whom Labour are relying on, from bankrolling the plan. Not the first time Miliband has taken a misplaced victory lap…

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been doing a misplaced victory lap on social media over the government securing 131 new clean energy projects. The first bidding round for green energy projects took place under the Tories in 2023, though no deals were made as the subsidies were too low, so they increased the subsidies for the 2024 round. Miliband upped them even further, doubling the allowance. Not solely a Labour – or Miliband – win, then…

This isn’t something to boast about, especially since the expansion will saddle energy bill payers with a £10 billion cost. Consumers will end up paying foreign companies £82 per MWh in government subsidies to build these solar and wind farms. Meanwhile, Net Zero Watch has research that suggests a loophole in Government contracts could cost households up to £180 million a year. Their director aptly said:

“How many times were we subjected to the chorus of ‘wind is cheap’? That refrain now rings hollow and these results show Miliband’s green utopianism to be even more costly and impractical than once feared.”

Still, Reeves continues to blame the Tories for the surprise “black hole” as she prepares for the “painful” budget that’s sure to see tax rises for working people. Labour are doing as they always do: tax and spend, tax and spend…