Report Finds UK Would Be £220 Billion Better off Without Net Zero Policies – Guido Fawkes

Report Finds UK Would Be £220 Billion Better off Without Net Zero Policies

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Energy consultant Kathryn Porter last night released her report into UK energy policy for consultancy Watt-Logic: The True Affordability of Net Zero. The latest in a growing series of research studies that highlights the massive costs incurred by Brits thanks to political choices made in Westminster…

The report’s key points:

• “High international gas prices” and “dictators” do not explain Britain’s massive electricity prices seeing as all countries that are net gas importers pay the same price for it. UK gas prices are 15th highest out of 24 comparable countries…
• The UK is spending over £17 billion per year on environmental levies, subsidies, carbon taxes, and energy taxes. This will rise to over £20 billion in 2030…
• Wind farms are deliberately built “outside of grid constraints” meaning the grid cannot handle the electricity produced. Porter points out that the Seagreen windfarm in 2024 was “constrained off” twice as often as it was selling electricity to the grid. Consumers at those points had to pay for a gas power station to produce electricity. Leaving them on the hook twice seeing as they have to pay for renewables to not operate…
• Brits pay circa £1 billion each year to curtail renewable generation in this way.
• The Climate Change Committee’s 7th Carbon Budget says savings from net zero are only expected from 2038-2043. And even that is optimistic…
• Had the UK continued with gas-power systems since 2006 consumers would be approximately £220 billion better off in 2025 currency. The gas crisis on the other hand is only worth £75 billion…
• Wholesale electricity prices make up 42% of electricity bills and gas prices determine less than 40% of electricity bills – they do not “drive” household bills. Wholesale and retail prices broadly tracked until 2006 when the costs of the energy transition were added to bills…

A key error identified by Porter is the decision to prioritise building wind farms over power lines – last year £1.2 billion was spent on “curtailment.” Even NESO’s “independent” report into net zero policies points out that achieving Miliband’s targets will be almost impossible and demand will have to be reduced dramatically. Lights off…