Ed Miliband gives keynote speech to Energy UK conference: comment

"Anyone who has paid an energy bill over the past few years knows the price of relying on gas for the majority of our home heating and a significant proportion of electricity generation. Decarbonising the grid means switching away from volatile gas, which will increasingly come from abroad as the North Sea continues its decline, and towards British wind and solar power. Transitioning from gas boilers to electric heat pumps means household heating bills are less exposed to the unstable international markets if another gas crisis comes along, which history tells us is very possible.

"Reducing our gas demand is the most sensible step we can take after being the country worst hit in Western Europe from the crisis and moving to clean power is more of a no-brainer now than it has ever been before. Households have paid the price for inefficient, leaky homes for decades but especially over the course of the crisis. Surely it's obvious to the new government that we need to get on with insulating them if we want to shield families from higher bills." [2]

Notes to editors:

1. https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/event/energy-uk-annual-conference-2024/
2. ECIU analysis shows that homes with the worst levels of energy efficiency, such as insulation, will face significantly higher bills this winter: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2024/energy-price-cap-cost-of-gas-crisis-set-to-approach-4-000-for-a-typical-household

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: +44 (0)7894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net