Ed Miliband urged to lock gas, nationalise Rough
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- US‑Israel war on Iran will drive household energy costs in Britain to their highest level in two years over the summer.
- Ed Miliband promised cheaper bills if Britain embraced his clean, green power plan, but critics including Sir Tony Blair are questioning the feasibility.
- Patricia Pino authored a Common Wealth thinktank paper that applies lessons from the 2022 price shock to today's energy market, highlighting that LNG scarcity is inflating gas and electricity prices.
- Common Wealth thinktank argues that domestic gas production, pipeline imports and storage withdrawals are insufficient, making LNG scarcer and more expensive, which in turn lifts electricity prices.
- Government should retain more domestic gas for home use by making it cheaper than European gas and nationalise Centrica’s Rough gas storage as a buffer stock to smooth peak prices.
- State can take four actions between April and September: impose an export levy to keep domestic gas, fill a buffer stock, signal import support before supplies are committed elsewhere, and move part of the electricity system off gas‑indexed pricing.
Why it matters: British households could avoid higher winter bills and the government could slash the £23 bn subsidy outlay if it secures domestic gas and stabilises clean‑energy prices; meanwhile, delaying action leaves the UK exposed to volatile LNG markets and higher import costs.
