Christophe Williams, CEO of Naked Energy, said: “Escalation involving Iran is yet another reminder that dependence on gas weakens our energy security. UK wholesale gas prices have risen by around 90% in the past week, and that volatility feeds straight through to businesses and households.
“Calls to ‘just use more North Sea gas’ are false comfort. UK produced gas is sold at international prices, so it does not insulate us from global shocks. And the remaining reserves are nowhere near large enough to protect the UK from disruption in global supply routes.
“As former Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has acknowledged, expanding North Sea oil and gas ‘wouldn’t necessarily bring energy bills down’. Doubling down on fossil fuels offers neither long term stability nor a cost advantage.
“The durable answer is to cut gas demand with renewables and efficiency and to prioritise the biggest gap in the transition: heat. Heat is the world’s largest energy end use, close to half of global final energy consumption and most of it is still fossil fuelled. Tackling heat with British and European made clean technologies is one of the fastest ways to lower exposure to gas prices while strengthening energy security.”
