“Clock is ticking” on energy reforms

The “clock is ticking” if the Government wants to give investors enough certainty to front the cash for up to £200billion worth of updates and new power generation in the […]

The “clock is ticking” if the Government wants to give investors enough certainty to front the cash for up to £200billion worth of updates and new power generation in the UK. There are growing worries the UK faces electricity shortages if today’s draft Energy Bill isn’t put into practice soon.

Analysts say there has been enough talk – now is the time for action.

Bill Easton, Director of Utilities at Ernst & Young told ELN: “We’ve already been talking about this for two years. It’s pretty critical this time by next year, everyone knows what’s happening. We can’t keep on going through major rounds of consultation – we’ve got to start executing.”

With a fifth of power plants going offline in the next decade, “we’ve got to make sure investment to replace plants gets signed off as soon as possible,” he added.

That’s exactly what concerns the CBI, which represents hundreds of businesses in Britain.

Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Deputy Director-General said: “The clock is ticking to create the market certainty that will unlock billions of pounds of private sector investment, generating many new jobs across the UK, and securing an affordable supply of energy.

“We are still some way from having a detailed picture of how the electricity market will look in the future, on which the success of these reforms depends. With major investors waiting in the wings, these details are needed as soon as possible.”

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