Reducing the cost While the intervention will be funded by the government, action is being taken to significantly reduce the cost over time, including: Energy Supply Taskforce A new Energy Supply Taskforce – led by Madelaine McTernan who headed up the UK’s successful Vaccine Taskforce – has begun negotiations with domestic and international suppliers to agree long-term contracts that reduce the price they charge for energy and increase the security of its supply. The government will negotiate with renewable producers to reduce the prices they charge as well. Energy Markets Financing Scheme HM Treasury are announcing a joint scheme, working with the Bank of England, to address the extraordinary liquidity requirements faced by energy firms operating in UK wholesale gas and electricity markets. The Energy Markets Financing Scheme will enable stability to both energy and financial markets, and the economy, and reduce the eventual cost for businesses and consumers. The scheme will provide short term financial support and will be designed to be used as a last resort. Increasing supply Learning from the mistakes of the past, the government is taking action to accelerate domestic energy supply, increase our energy resilience and achieve our ambition to make the UK an energy exporter by 2040:
launch a new oil and gas licensing round, expected to lead to over 100 new licences.
lift the moratorium on UK shale gas production - enabling developers to seek planning permission where there is local support, which could get gas flowing in as soon as 6 months
drive forward the acceleration of new sources of energy supply from North Sea oil and gas to clean energy like nuclear, wind and solar
continue progressing up to 24GW of nuclear by 2050, with Great British Nuclear helping to set direction of getting new nuclear projects online in the UK
undertake fundamental reforms to the structure and regulation of energy market through recommendations from a new review of the UK energy regulation
launch a review to ensure we are meeting our net zero 2050 target in an economically-efficient way, given the altered economic landscape; chaired by Chris Skidmore MP and reporting by the end of this year, it will ensure delivering the target is not placing undue burdens on businesses or consumers