A high level, expert commission including representatives from
Energy UK, CBI, Citizens Advice and National Energy Action is
being launched today to review the impacts of the gas crisis on
households and businesses.
The Commission will make a series of high-level recommendations
focused on ensuring that the country is better equipped to
withstand possible future energy crises. It is expected to
publish its findings in the autumn. The Commission is launching
with a call for evidence and will gather evidence over the
summer. [1]
The Commissioners are:
- Louise Hellem, Chief Economist at the Confederation of
British Industry (CBI);
- Gillian Cooper, Director of Energy at Citizens Advice;
- Dhara Vyas, Deputy Chief Executive of Energy UK;
- Adam Scorer, Chief Executive of National Energy Action (NEA);
- Jim Watson, Professor of Energy Policy, the Bartlett School
Env, Energy & Resources, UCL.
The Commission will be chaired by the Rt Hon , who was MP for Yeovill
from 2001-2015. David is also the Chairman of Energy UK and
several other organisations, as well as a successful author.
Commenting on the launch, David said: “The energy crisis
has been hard on households and businesses alike. It's important
that we reflect on what has happened and steps that the country
could take to mitigate the impacts of any future crises to ensure
we are more resilient.”
Louise Hellem, Commissioner and Chief Economist
at the CBI, said: “Energy price volatility over recent
years has brought impossible choices for many families and
significant cost pressures for businesses in multiple sectors,
limiting their ability to invest.
"Assessing how policies can better protect households and
businesses alike is important to bolster future energy resilience
- an objective that business and government must work together to
achieve.
"This should include prioritising catalytic green investment to
build long-term energy security, improve home energy efficiency
and accelerate the UK's pathway to net zero."
Gillian Cooper, Commissioner and Director of
Energy at Citizens Advice, said: “Consumers bore the
brunt of the energy crisis and ultimately paid the price for
energy supplier failures. The market meltdown tipped millions of
people across the country into hardship, with many forced to make
impossible choices between heating and eating.
“We will work together to make sure we learn the lessons so that
the future of the energy market is resilient, affordable, and low
carbon.”
Dhara Vyas, Commissioner and Deputy Chief
Executive of Energy UK said: “Despite a recent fall in
energy prices, bills remain 15% higher than they were before the
crisis. This coupled with other cost-of-living increases means
that households, businesses and the wider economy are still
grappling with the effects of the crisis. What's more, energy
debt has risen to record levels and will continue to do so
without further reform and targeted support for vulnerable
customers.”
Matt Copeland, Head of Policy and Public Affairs
at NEA, said: “High energy prices have driven millions
more into fuel poverty. Bills remain 50% higher than
pre-covid levels. We anticipate that's where they'll remain there
for the rest of the decade. This is completely unaffordable for
millions of fuel poor households.
"Shielding households from future price hikes is crucial,
especially as their resilience has been diminished by almost
three years of sky-high bills. Many have cut their energy use
right back yet they still owe billions of pounds.
"This Commission aims to learn the lessons from the peak of the
energy crisis and ensure that low-income and vulnerable
households are never exposed to the debt and despair of such high
prices again.”
Jim Watson, Commissioner and Professor of Energy
Policy at UCL, said: “Whilst energy bills have now
started to fall, it is essential that we learn lessons from the
global energy price crisis. This is not the first time sharp
increases in fossil fuel prices have had such widespread effects
on households, businesses and entire economies - and it is
unlikely to be the last. The transition away from fossil fuels
will not be smooth, and needs to include strategies to respond to
the highs and lows of fossil fuel markets.”
The Commission is launching with a call for evidence and will
gather evidence over the summer. [1] The Energy and Climate
Intelligence Unit is providing the secretariat for the
Commission.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. To submit evidence to the Commission, please
visit: https://energycrisiscommission.uk.
The Call for Evidence will be open until 23:59 30 Aug 2024.
Bios:
The Commission will be chaired by the Rt Hon , who was MP for Yeovill from
2001-2015. David is also the Chairman of Energy UK and several
other organisations. https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/david-laws-appointed-as-energy-uk-chair/
Dhara Vyas is Deputy CEO, Energy UK, where she was previously
Director of Advocacy. She joined Energy UK in November 2021 from
Citizens Advice, where she was responsible for the consumer
watchdog's work on Net Zero, decarbonisation and the future
energy market. https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/dhara-vyas-appointed-deputy-ceo-of-energy-uk/
Louise Hellem is Chief Economist at the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI), and a member of its Executive Committee. Building
on the insights from members, she shapes the CBI's overall view
on economic and fiscal policy and leads the CBI's discussions
with senior politicians and policymakers in these areas. Louise
also oversees the CBI's economic consultancy business CBI
Economics. https://www.cbi.org.uk/about-us/our-people/leadership-team/louise-hellem/
Gillian Cooper is the Director of Energy at Citizens Advice.
Since 2018, she has led the organisation's statutory role as an
energy advocate, including expanding its role to heat networks.
She also directs the organisation's strategy in the energy advice
market, ensuring its services are able to meet people's changing
needs. Gillian has two decades of experience representing
consumers in roles across various organisations.
Adam Scorer is Chief Executive of National Energy Action (NEA), a
charity that works to eradicate fuel poverty. Before taking on
this role in 2018, Adam worked at numerous policy-focused
institutions, such as the Chartered Trading Standards Institute,
Energy UK, Citizens Advice and Which?. https://www.nea.org.uk/contact-nea/?
Jim Watson is Professor of Energy Policy and Director of the UCL
Institute for Sustainable Resources. He is a Fellow of the
Academy of Social Sciences; the UK Executive Committee member of
the European Energy Research Alliance, and steering group chair
of the UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrator
programme. https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/67127
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