Lawmakers in the UK have launched a new inquiry into the country’s energy policies and their impact on energy security, energy supply costs and decarbonisation.
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has invited submissions of evidence and says that it wants to investigate whether government energy policy over the last decade has lead to a dysfunctional energy market.
Energy policy in the UK over the last decade has focused on decarbonisation, ensuring security of supply and keeping costs for consumers competitive. It has lead to the accelerated closure of coal plants and a range of subsidies levied by charges on consumers.
Combined, these measures have lead to rising energy prices and a lack of investment in baseload capacity, suggesting a dysfunctional energy market or a conflict of government policies, the Economic Affairs Committee said in a statement.
The Committee will consider whether the present mix of policy interventions and subsidies in pursuit of those objectives have led to failures in the energy market. It will also look at what measures are required to correct these failures.
Lord Hollick, Chairman of the Committee, said: “In the Committee’s report into the economic impact on UK energy policy of shale gas and oil in May 2014, we concluded that there had been a lack of clarity and consistency in energy policy over many years. This failure of policy had left the UK dangerously close to lacking sufficient electricity generating capacity. Over two years later, little has changed. Coal power stations are being closed and old nuclear stations are coming towards the end of their life. But it is not clear how they will replaced and at what cost.
“The core question for the Committee is are there failures in the energy market and what measures are needed in the future to correct them?”
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