Energy Security

Part of Opposition Day — [2nd Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 4:17 pm on 13 January 2010.

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Photo of Greg Clark Greg Clark Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 4:17, 13 January 2010

I beg to move,

That this House
notes the impending retirement of over 20 gigawatts of UK generating capacity, the ongoing depletion of North Sea oil and gas reserves and the nation's growing dependency on imported fossil fuels;
further notes the high and volatile prices of those imports and the threats to the constancy and adequacy of their supply;
regrets that British energy policy has failed to change with these circumstances and that, consequently, the nation's energy security has been compromised, as exemplified by the low levels of UK gas storage capacity;
acknowledges that fundamental reforms to the energy policy framework are required in order to attract the investment required to guarantee reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supplies;
calls upon the Government to take immediate action to ensure diversity in new electricity generating capacity and adequate levels of natural gas storage;
and, recognising that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective means of meeting Britain's energy needs, further calls upon the Government to implement policies capable of accelerating the deployment of efficiency improvements to millions of domestic and non-domestic buildings, in particular to the homes of the growing number of fuel-poor households.

If ever the House needed a reminder of the importance of affordable, reliable energy supplies, this winter has provided it. It has also reminded us that the measures that we need to take to safeguard the security of those supplies will be tested. As the Engineering Employers Federation said last week:

"The long-standing vulnerability in our energy system has been exposed...As a nation we need to take security of energy supply more seriously."

This time around, a number of businesses on interruptible gas contracts were cut off. Thankfully, supplies to residential customers were maintained, but this is no cause for complacency. Temperatures have been unusually low, but the effects of the recession have depressed underlying demand. Fortunately, there has been no repeat this winter of the unresolved dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which has meant that supplies from that region have so far not been disrupted. There is, however, no guarantee that we shall not have another cold winter, or that Russia will not turn off the taps in the future, or that we shall not have a problem with the Rough storage facility, as happened four years ago.

The Government know that, as Shakespeare said:

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions".

The only thing that we should expect is that unexpected events will happen. To guarantee our energy security not just most of the time but all the time, we need to be prepared. The head of Ofgem has said:

"The headline fact is that Britain is the single most exposed country among the big players in Europe".

Current energy policy is not adequately prepared for what could have been, and should have been, foreseen.

Let me say from the outset that I do not blame the Secretary of State for this. After all, he has been in the job for just over a year, and it has taken at least 10 years of drift to leave Britain this unprepared for the energy challenges of the 21st century. I strongly suspect that he privately shares our analysis of the situation. He himself said today that

"there is clearly an urgent need for additional gas storage", and I welcome that recognition. He says that we should have more gas storage and greater diversity of supply, including nuclear power and renewables, and that we should promote energy efficiency. I think that there is agreement on this that crosses party lines.