Ed Miliband will warn the UK must “double down not back down” on clean energy as ministers move to break the link between electricity and gas prices, following the latest global energy shock.
The Energy Secretary is set to argue that two fossil fuel crises in less than five years have exposed the risks of the current system where volatile gas markets continue to dictate electricity prices.
At a widely trailed speech he is due to make later today he will say:
For Britain and so many other countries, clean energy is now the only route to financial security, energy security and national security. While some have said we have gone too far and too fast, I profoundly disagree.
“In response to recent events, our action must now be faster, deeper and more wide-ranging. That is why we will double down not back down on our mission for clean energy.”
The current Iran war and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine have shown how fragile energy security is and how Britain is at the behest of international shocks from oil prices. This says Miliband, can no longer be ignored.
“The era of fossil fuel security is over and the era of clean energy security must come of age. “To ignore two crises in less than five years would be completely irresponsible… our action must now be faster deeper and more wide ranging.”
Breaking the link
At the centre of the plan is reform of the wholesale pricing model.
Gas still sets the electricity price around 60% of the time, despite supplying a shrinking share of generation because of the marginal pricing system – where the most expensive power source sets the market rate.
That has left households and businesses exposed to global gas shocks even as cheaper renewable generation has expanded.
Ministers now want to reduce that exposure by encouraging older renewable and nuclear generators onto fixed price contracts supported by Treasury incentives.
Officials believe the shift could start to feed through into lower bills within 12 months although the scale of savings remains unclear.
Wider push to begin
The pricing reform sits alongside a wider push to accelerate electrification and clean energy deployment.
Plans include expanding renewables across public land including railway corridors and brownfield sites with up to 10GW of additional capacity targeted enough to power five million homes.
The Government will also move to remove barriers to adopting clean technologies. Changes will make it easier to install EV chargers without driveways including cross pavement solutions and give renters more rights to request installations.
Reforms are also aimed at speeding up deployment of heat pumps and rooftop solar.
The strategy is designed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels across the system. Miliband will argue clean energy offers a route to economic and national security that is insulated from global conflict.
North sea drilling rejected
Critics have called for a return to North Sea oil and gas to ease costs but ministers are rejecting that approach.
Instead the focus is on accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels and reshaping the market, so electricity prices reflect the growing share of low cost clean generation.
The reforms mark a significant shift in policy. Breaking the gas power link has long been debated but ministers are now moving to act as volatility in global energy markets continues to expose the limits of the current system.
Miliband will conclude: “Unlike the twin fossil fuel shocks of the 1970s, there is now a compelling alternative in the form of clean energy.
“An alternative that cannot be disrupted by foreign wars because it comes from our own wind, sun and nuclear resources.“
Copyright © 2026 Energy Live News LtdELN