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Co-founder of Whole Nation Conservatives Miranda Jupp is a longstanding North East Conservative activist and former council candidate. Prior to the 2024 General Election she was Chief of Staff to Sir Simon Clarke.
Last Wednesday, cold temperatures combined with low winds saw the National Energy System Operator (NESO) issue a capacity market notice and pay prices of up to £5000 per megawatt hour for additional gas generation to avoid power outages in the peak evening window. Whilst NESO were keen to talk down the risk of blackouts, the margins were undoubtedly very tight. This was followed at the weekend by warnings of low levels of gas storage, with less than a week of demand available. To find ourselves in this situation whilst relying heavily on importing electricity via interconnectors and with several of the UK’s operational nuclear power stations approaching end of life despite recently announced extensions shows the consequences of the low levels of per capita power generation explored on this site in November .
None of us want to face a repeat of the 3 day week of the 1970s, so we need to give serious consideration to a multi-pronged approach to increasing security of supply, and as pragmatic Whole Nation Conservatives focused on policy that delivers for people across the UK we must make the case for doing so.
It was additional electricity generation from gas fired power stations which avoided the lights going out last Wednesday. On a cold, still day, gas was generating over half of our electricity (you can see real time and historic breakdowns of power generation at www.energydashboard.co.uk), which shows the folly of an overly punitive approach to the North Sea oil and gas industry when our use of alternative technologies is not currently in a position to reliably replace this huge chunk of power generation. Whilst the desire to reach Net Zero is laudable, and generally broadly supported by the public, support does not by any means extend to prioritising decarbonisation over the ability to heat our homes and cook dinner! Conservatives should make a coherent case for a more measured approach to decarbonisation than the current Government’s position of decarbonising electricity generation by 2030 without any indication of how we can do so without reducing our already low levels of energy supply.
We should also talk up the important opportunities around storage technologies which will allow us to smooth out the intermittent generation capacity provided by wind and solar power. From battery storage to green hydrogen to pumped hydroelectric storage, projects related to the necessary infrastructure have the potential to create jobs in parts of the country still seeking a new purpose following the demise of traditional industries. Conservative Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, has been one of the strongest storytellers in this space and we should seek to build on his successes, such as the 100 megawatt planned battery storage plant at Teesworks.
The other essential element of improving our security of electricity supply is making the case for more nuclear power. It is particularly important to focus on improving and streamlining regulation in this sector. Hinkley Point C, currently under construction, is expected to cost 4 to 6 times more per megawatt hour of generation than comparable new nuclear power stations in South Korea. Britain Remade’s Powerbook makes a number of suggestions of where to start on making it easier to get more power generation built (and connected to the grid) more quickly and we should be banging the drum for this sort of initiative.
Whole Nation Conservatism is about offering a better future to people from all backgrounds in different corners of the country. A bold offer on energy policy would be a great place to start and put us in a strong position to hold the Government to account if they make mistakes with serious consequences through tunnel vision on Net Zero, rather than a bigger picture approach.
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