According to what the British newspaper “The Guardian” quoted Adam Scorer, CEO of National Energy Action, as saying, “others who prioritize heating and other energy uses are falling more deeply into energy debt, which has now reached record levels.”
Britain’s energy bills are still hundreds of pounds higher per year than they were at the beginning of the energy crisis. It is also likely to rise again next January, “and it seems inevitable that the situation will get worse this winter.”
The British are paying a huge bill due to the energy crisis that the country is witnessing, at a time when the United Kingdom relies on purchasing gas from the spot markets due to its lack of large storage capacities.
While gas supplies faced widespread pressure last year, due to the effects of the war in Ukraine and its repercussions on the markets with the sanctions imposed on Russia, the British experienced a relatively difficult winter. The crisis is expected to extend this year as well.
The war in Ukraine led to a rise in global energy prices, with Western countries imposing sanctions on Moscow’s huge exports of oil and gas.
According to data published by the British newspaper The Guardian this week:
- One in four UK households living in social housing had to go without heating at times last winter; To reduce the cost of record high energy bills.
- The number of families living in temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius for periods during last winter increased by about 240,000 people compared to the previous winter (..).
- The data was collected from smart thermostats installed in around 20,000 households in social housing projects by energy analytics company Switchee.
The company analyzes billions of data points to provide social housing owners with insights that can help improve the energy efficiency of properties. Its analysis revealed a growing number of families living in cold homes.
Infrastructure
From London, the CEO of the Quorum Center for Studies, Tariq Al-Rifai, said in exclusive statements to the “Eqtisad Sky News Arabia” website, that the problem facing Britain, as well as the European Union, is a problem with the infrastructure of the economy; Especially in terms of developments related to the attempt to switch to alternative energies quickly, “and we have seen the impact in Germany, for example, in terms of closing all nuclear reactors used to generate electricity due to expectations of using alternative energies, which did not satisfy consumption, and now Berlin has been forced to rely in one way or another.” On power generation through coal (..).”
He adds: “In Britain, we also saw earlier an attempt to close some coal-fired power stations, and London could not continue on this path, which led greatly to the energy crisis (..) and therefore the infrastructure for Britain’s energy needs must be considered and then Investing in some realistic alternatives such as nuclear energy and others.”
- Last month, London announced that it was abandoning part of its green policy. British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, decided to postpone a number of basic measures related to climate policies in the country, which sparked widespread controversy.
- These new measures included postponing the ban on the sale of new cars (gasoline and diesel) for a period of five years (while the specified deadline was the beginning of the year 2030).
- In this context, London is adopting a plan aimed at gradually eliminating natural gas heating devices, starting in 2035, as well as abandoning the measure related to energy efficiency in homes and imposing severe restrictions on owners.
Al-Rifai points out that the United Kingdom is more dependent on energy supplies from foreign countries, which leads to an imbalance in the attempt to maintain the stability of energy prices in the country, especially in light of the fluctuations in oil and gas prices with the consequences of geopolitical problems, “as we saw last year with the start of the war.” In Ukraine – on February 24, 2022 – and today we see the concern of investors and financial markets regarding the extent to which energy supplies will be affected to the rest of the world (in reference to the fears resulting from the tensions in Gaza and their effects on markets and investor sentiment).”
suffering
The most vulnerable and lowest-income groups in the country are suffering from the consequences of this crisis, and they are forced to prepare for a winter that may be more difficult than the previous one.
The Guardian quoted National Energy Action, a charity concerned with fuel poverty, as saying that many people may have to live without heating this winter after the government reduced subsidy payments. According to the organization’s CEO:
- New data paints a shocking picture of what happened last winter, and what is happening again now in millions of homes across the UK.
- People in all periods use less but still pay more.
- Millions of people are lowering the temperature of their homes to a point that may be dangerous to their health or even fatal.
It comes as experts warn that low-income renters will face higher energy bills as a result of the government’s decision to scrap plans to force private landlords to upgrade their properties to make them more energy efficient.
Returning to the speech of the CEO of the Quorum Center for Studies, in this context he prefers to compare the energy crisis in Britain with the situation in France, for example, noting that “Paris is in a good place compared to London, because the former has the potential to generate 70 percent of its electrical energy from nuclear reactors ( 56 reactors) after adopting a strategic energy plan over a period of up to three decades…while Britain and Germany also did not have this strategic outlook, and therefore this dimension must be looked at, and long-term strategic goals should be adopted in the footsteps of Paris.”
In the same context, Al-Rifai stresses that “the ideal solution for these countries is to move more towards nuclear energy now, especially since alternative energies take a long time (..).”
Exploration licenses
Last July, the British government announced its intention to issue “hundreds” of new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea to guarantee its energy reserves for years to come while continuing to strive to achieve net zero emissions in 2050.
According to the British Prime Minister, “The government is taking measures to slow the rapid decline in domestic oil and gas production, which will ensure the (domestic) supply of energy sources and reduce dependence on aggressive countries.”
This comes at a time when the United Kingdom is suffering from several crises that exacerbate economic pressures, especially since the Corona pandemic in 2020, then the war in Ukraine, and related crises, including the energy and food crises and others, in addition to the country being affected by the exit from the European Union, while some blame Brexit is responsible for the deterioration of economic conditions.
In the first half of this year, the British economy achieved growth rates lower by 0.2 percent than it was before the pandemic, which means that Britain is placed in a backward position among the major advanced economies.
Cost of living
For his part, a member of the British Labor Party, Mustafa Rajab, said in exclusive statements to the “Eqtisad Sky News Arabia” website that the cost of living crisis is going from bad to worse in Britain, starting with the Corona pandemic, then the war in Ukraine, all the way to the current situation in the Middle East region, and he added. In addition, the repercussions of exiting the European market after “Brexit” and the economic impacts associated with that.
He added: “There are many conditions that have befallen the British, to the point that some of them have begun to resort to food banks as life expenses or the cost of living have increased… In addition, people have begun to economize on heating due to the rise in energy prices, in addition to economizing on lighting, and it has become more Share financial advice on dealing with the problem of high prices and ways to save money.
At the same time, he points out that “the British government has launched initiatives and programs under the slogan (RE) or (Re) for remanufacturing or reuse, to help people not spend a lot of money, and reuse and manufacture their own waste.”
He adds to this the crises related to food, whether with regard to increasing prices or the scarcity of some items in the markets, pointing to the impact of the state of “uncertainty” that dominates all markets on the economic situation in London, including the expected repercussions of tensions in the Middle East region. Especially once the scope of escalation between Hamas and Israel expanded.
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