BRITS will start to see lower energy prices in as little as three years under plans to turbo charge wind and nuclear power, a Cabinet minister said today.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said families should begin to feel the benefit of generating more energy at home “very soon”.
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But he admitted the Government’s new drive to boost domestic production will do little to immediately alleviate the cost of living crisis.
Boris Johnson wants to end Britain’s reliance on foreign imports by switching 95% of our energy to low carbon methods by the end of the decade.
That means huge investment in new offshore wind farms and nuclear power plants and ending reliance on fossil fuels like coal and gas.
Hailing the new investment the PM said “nuclear is coming home” to the country where the atom was first split.
He said: “Instead of a new reactor every decade we will have a new reactor every year.
“For years, governments have dodged the big decisions on energy, but not this one.
“We’ve got the ambition, we’ve got the plan and we are going to bring clean, affordable secure power to the people for generations to come.”
The PM added energy bills have “absolutely soared” as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “we just can’t carry on like this”.
And he insisted the latest plans will mean Britain can’t be “subject to blackmail from people such as Vladimir Putin” in future.
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Mr Kwarteng said the cost of electricity from renewables has “come down” significantly over the last decade and will drive lower prices.
Asked how long it will be until Brits feel the benefit in their pockets, he said: “I think the impact could be very soon, I mean three or four years.”
“It’s much cheaper to generate offshore wind today than it was even just five years ago. So some of these benefits can happen quite quickly.”
The PM’s much vaunted energy strategy was finally published last night after being held up by squabbling.
Rishi Sunak is said to have baulked at the cost of building eight new nuclear power plants to power Britain’s future.
Meanwhile many ministers and MPs objected to plans to double the number of onshore wind farms, which are considered an eyesore by some.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a global energy crisis, pushing up fuel and food prices and feeding rampant inflation.
Mr Kwarteng admitted that the switch to renewables won’t help offset the immediate pain families are feeling.
He said: “The strategy is more of a medium term, three, four or five-year answer, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t address this.
“It’s really important that we get an energy strategy, an energy policy, that means we can have more security and independence in the years ahead.”
COST OF LIVING
The Business Sec said the Chancellor has already announced billions in extra support to get families through the cost of living crunch.
Measures include a £1bn household support fund for the worst off families, as well as a 5p reduction in fuel duty.
The National Insurance threshold has been raised saving the average worker £300 and the living wage will go up to £9.50 an hour.
Brits will also receive a £200 loan to help with immediate energy costs, and homes in bands A to D will get £150 off their council tax.
Mr Kwarteng said the Government is also helping people with the cost of insulation and is set to unveil a new low energy boiler scheme.
He said: “People are rightly very concerned but we have introduced a package of measures that deals with some of that anxiety.
“That’s the right approach to help people in the short term, but also we’ve got to think of longer term plans so we’re not in this kind of situation in the future.”
At the beginning of the month the energy price cap was lifted sending average bills soaring by almost £700 to £2,000 a year.
And critics say the measures announced so far go nowhere near far enough to offset the spiralling cost of living.
Last week policing minister Kit Malthouse said Mr Sunak is preparing extra help for families struggling to make ends meet.
But he also admitted the Government is pinning its hopes on soaring inflation and fuel prices coming down “soon”.
He said: “We are we are facing a very difficult global situation here driven by external factors outside the country.
“At the same time we are facing a very challenging financial situation internally, having spent billions and billions of pounds getting ourselves through the pandemic in good shape.
“What we’re trying to do is balance that situation, to help as many people as we can through what we acknowledge as a very tough situation at the moment.
“And then hope that over time things will improve from an inflation and a fuel price point of view and we can get back onto the path to prosperity.”
