When Russia invaded Ukraine almost two and a half years ago, British energy prices shot up. But beyond the conflict itself, the sudden crisis was a product of our reliance on natural gas, and our exposure to a volatile international energy market. Our continued dependence on imported fossil fuels leaves the UK vulnerable to this happening again, and the effects of 2022 been felt ever since – prices remain almost 40 per cent higher than they were in 2021. But today, we gained a greater sense of how the new Labour government will guard against such threats in the future: the ambition of making the UK energy independent through Great British Energy and its newly announced partnership with the Crown Estate.
GB Energy is a new publicly owned company set to officially launch later today. It is one of many strands of the Labour party’s “clean energy superpower” policy – a highly ambitious goal it aims to complete within the next six years. First touted by energy secretary Ed Miliband two years ago, GB Energy has long been the jewel in the crown of Labour’s green power mission. Its main goal is to increase “homegrown” renewable energy and to reduce bills. And it will be backed by £8.3bn in government funding over the next five years.
Content from our partners
