Britain’s energy industry is nosediving into a dark, uncertain future

Decades of denial and underinvestment have left Britain in huge energy debt and at risk of powercuts and 20% bill hikes

Last week, the Guardian revealed that United Kingdom government officials are now negotiating to soften the impact of EU directives affecting the operation of fossil fuel-fired power stations and their emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). This is enormously embarrassing for the UK, but no surprise.

Indeed, it suggests that government, or at least the civil service is beginning to appreciate the full impact of the regulations for the future of the UK’s electricity supply. Currently, the UK faces significant shortage in generation capacity by 2015 that is likely to lead to price rises for the consumer (a document leaked to the Guardian suggests price hikes of 20%) or power cuts at times of peak demand.


Indeed, industry analysts have been predicting for some time that the lack of reliable capacity in the UK electricity industry would force the government to seek humiliating exemptions from the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive and its successor legislation in order to keep dirty power stations online that would otherwise be phased out by the directive.

The government has underestimated the impact of the regulations and has failed to recognise that the LCPD would probably require the closure of the bulk of the UK’s coal generation fleet by 2016. It has been unduly optimistic with regard to the construction of new combined cycle gas turbines (the only large power generation that will be built under the present policy regime in the required time frame, nuclear being unlikely to make any contribution until 2020).

Guardian