The Energy Crisis Commission (ECC) has called on the Government to address high electricity prices and poor insulation.

The ECC has stated: "Without meaningful action on bills, both for households and businesses, the switch to electrification will stall. The Government is taking steps to boost our clean power capacity and insulate billpayers from volatile international prices again, with renewables already lowering the wholesale electricity price by around a quarter. But bills are high today, and people are unlikely to move to more efficient electric heating if it is more expensive.”

The ECC has called on the Government to detail how it can reduce the ‘spark gap’ between electricity and gas. As is the norm these days it has, of course, attached a ‘wealth tag’ also asking for bills to ensure schemes are funded in a more “progressive way” or as other call it, another form of income tax.

The ECC’s one-year review found that major progress has been made in the last year on renewables, such as the Contracts for Difference scheme, reforms to grid connections and ongoing changes to planning processes, but further details are yet to be set out on exactly what this means.

Ofgem has also introduced new financial checks to prevent supplier failure, new standards to improve smart meter performance and a new consumer outcomes framework, while the start of a plan to tackle record high levels of debt has been announced in recent weeks.

In addition, the roll out of net-zero technology is gathering pace, with record levels of heat pumps, solar and batteries installed. Government schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme have also grown since the ECC’s first report, and the Clean Heat Market Mechanism was introduced (though weakened by reduced fines for non-compliance).

However, the ECC is clear that more progress is required to build the UK’s resistance to a future energy crisis.

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