Jacob Rees-Mogg, the new Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, told officials on Monday that he planned to effectively put the energy bill currently in the House of Lords on hold, multiple sources said. sources. The legislation, part of Boris Johnson’s final Queen’s speech, was far-reaching and would have overhauled everything from carbon dioxide transport to carbon sequestration and nuclear power generation. But the bill, which is still at an early stage in its parliamentary process, now faces repeal or dramatic revision after Downing Street stressed the Prime Minister wanted to prioritize tight bills and urgent reform of electricity markets. No 10 is seen as pushing for two major reforms. First, the decoupling of electricity prices from the global price of natural gas – mainly because renewable energy is now nine times cheaper than natural gas. The second change would be a move to “local pricing” to incentivize the private sector to build additional capacity. National Grid argued the change would ease congestion on the UK’s transmission networks from energy-rich Scotland to power-hungry England. Critics say a better solution is to invest in better infrastructure connecting the two countries’ electricity grids.
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When he was Business Secretary, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng launched a consultation on both changes in July, but the process could be sped up to produce legislation as soon as possible. Mr Rees-Mogg surprised some industry sources last week when he indicated at a meeting that he wanted renewable energy to roll out at speed. A government insider said: “He wants to put a full throttle on the best prospects for renewables … offshore wind will be the biggest focus, but supply needs to increase across the board.” Abandoning parts of the energy bill could mean abandoning a landmark reform, the creation of the “future system operator” arm of the National Grid that Mr Johnson hoped would secure renewable energy to meet the UK’s clean zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was contacted for comment but declined to speculate on the future of the bill. Parliament will be informed of its plans when it returns from recess next week. Other bills promised this year by the previous prime minister that now look set to be scrapped or heavily delayed include the Internet Safety Bill and the Bill of Rights. Ministers are currently considering all upcoming laws coming from their departments, although they will not make any further announcements until the end of the Queen’s national mourning period. In the coming weeks, Ms Truss will continue to prioritize the economic crisis. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that inflation eased slightly, but at 9.9% it remains close to the highest level since the 1970s. The Resolution Foundation warned that the poorest households are still facing double-digit inflation because they are more exposed to fluctuations in the prices of essential goods such as food. And the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think-tank seen as closely aligned with the new prime minister, predicted the Bank of England would have to keep raising interest rates, a move that risks sending the UK economy into recession.
