A report this week from Electrify Britain, a campaign backed by Octopus, found that using solar panels and heat pumps would cut people’s fuel bills in the event of worsening oil crises.
The report, Plug In, Pay Less, found that houses using such technologies would be almost immune to fossil fuel price rises: for a household using no gas or oil appliances, and powered by electricity, a 30% rise in wholesale gas and oil prices would translate into only a 1.7% rise in energy bills in 2035.
Energy bills are likely to rise this year, with the price cap likely to increase by more than £300 this July, according to Cornwall Insight, a consultancy.
Jess Ralston, the head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, said: “Predictions of energy bills rising by hundreds of pounds will feel like deja vu to hard-working families as yet another gas price crisis pushes up the cost of living. Many are still saddled with debt from the last gas crisis while Putin and the oil and gas companies stand to benefit.”
She added: “These wars and the global gas market are clearly beyond the UK’s control, so the only way we have to permanently stabilise bills is to cut our use of gas and that means switching to electric heat pumps and renewables that squeeze gas power plants off the grid.
“The North Sea is in long-term decline and more drilling won’t move the needle on prices we pay. Last year more renewables coming on to the grid pushed down the wholesale electricity prices by a third.”
Octopus said it had also seen a rise of about a third in the number of inquiries about leasing electric vehicles.
