KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON

News that energy company E.on is considering building a major offshore wind farm 8 miles off the coast of Brighton could be good news in helping to tackle Britain's looming energy deficit.

Conservatives have been concerned for some years now that Labour's failure on improving energy security could lead to power cuts in the next decade. The Party has been thinking hard on this issue and recently published a 12 point plan to improve Britain's energy security and make sure we keep the lights on!

Our 12-point plan is set out below:

1. Ensure that Britain has a clear, consistent and stable energy policy

• A Department leading on energy policy. A streamlined Department for Energy and Climate Change will deliver an Annual Energy Statement to Parliament that sets a clear strategic direction for energy policy – and therefore energy investment – in the years ahead.

• Reform of Ofgem. We will reform Ofgem to focus it on executing, not developing, policy. Its competition powers will be transferred to the Office of Fair Trading.

2. Establish a capacity guarantee in the electricity market

• An Electricity Capacity Guarantee. We believe that developers should be incentivised to build enough generating capacity to provide a reliable electricity supply at times of peak demand. The energy regulator should where necessary, long-term contracts for the provision of new capacity. This would allow investments to be planned in advance (thereby assuring security of supply) and at low risk (thereby cutting costs).

3. Establish a security guarantee for gas supply

• A Gas Capacity Guarantee. A Conservative government will ensure that, like France and Germany, we have enough gas storage or equivalent capacity to guarantee supplies throughout the year.

• An active role in a global market. North Sea production is in decline and we must maximise the diversity, reliability and affordability of the imported gas we will need in the years ahead. Therefore, a Conservative government will:
o Promote reliable long-term supply contracts.
o Maintain and deepen our international trading relationships.
o Press for the liberalisation of international energy markets.

4. Reform the Climate Change Levy to provide a floor price for carbon

• A floor price for carbon. The Government’s ineffectual Climate Change Levy is a tax on energy use, not emissions. We will fulfil our commitment to reform the CCL by turning it into a rebateable carbon levy that would act as a floor price for carbon in the energy sector.

5. Operate a streamlined planning process for large infrastructure investments

• Improving the planning system. We will speed up the planning process and ensure there are proper democratic checks and balances. We will retain recently made provisions for a streamlined, fast-track planning process and the National Policy Statements, but demand they be ratified by Parliament.
6. Facilitate nuclear power

• Facilitating nuclear power. We support the long overdue National Policy Statements on energy infrastructure, which are of critical importance to nuclear power. We agree with the nuclear industry that taxpayer and consumer subsidies should not and will not be provided – in particular there must be no public underwriting of construction cost overruns.

• Dealing with nuclear waste. We will work closely with the industry to identify a long-term repository for nuclear waste and establish a fair allocation of costs for the use new nuclear power stations will make of the facility.

7. Accelerate the demonstration of carbon capture and storage

• Action on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). We will bring the current CCS competition to a rapid conclusion and expand the demonstration programme to at least four facilities. We will ensure that CCS pipelines are planned and located where the greatest capacity for growth can be provided at the lowest costs.

• An Emissions Performance Standard. Under Conservative plans, all new coal-fired power stations would have to incorporate CCS technology from the outset and an emissions performance standard would be used to underpin progress on the level of carbon capture and efficiency of each plant.

8. Promote renewable energy

• Feed-in Tariffs. We will reduce costs to consumers and risks to investors by allowing feed-in tariffs to be used for future investments wherever this would offer better value for money to the public and reduce the cost of capital for investors.

• Facilitating development. We will put in place the offshore grid to reduce the uncertainty over grid connections that impacts on investment in offshore wind and marine renewables. And marine park facilities will be developed alongside the offshore grid to accelerate the development and demonstration of wave and tidal power systems.

• Allowing communities to benefit from wind power. We will help take the poison out of many of the planning battles surrounding onshore wind by promoting community ownership of appropriately sited wind farms and allowing communities that chose to host wind farms to keep the additional business rates they generate for six years.

9. Revolutionise supply and demand by building an energy internet

• Accelerating the roll-out of Smart Meters. We will accelerate the roll-out of smart meters, where the data belongs to the consumer, setting a deadline of the end of 2016 for the completion.

• Developing a Smart Grid. We will promote smart grid investment across our energy networks, setting ‘smartness’ criteria for the renewal and replacement of our existing transmission and distribution infrastructure.

10. Reduce demand by offering every household a Green Deal on energy efficiency

• The Green Deal. We will give every household in Britain a Green Deal - the right to have home energy efficiency improvements worth up to £6,500. The upfront costs will be financed by the commercial sector; and repaid over a period of up to 25 years through the savings on energy bills.

11. Electrify transport to reduce dependence on oil

• Reducing dependence on oil. A Conservative government will accelerate progress towards building the type of high-speed rail that has been available across Europe for decades.

• The electrification of road transport. The widespread adoption of electric vehicles depends on a national network of recharging points, as in Brighton; we will designate these as a regulated asset – enabling investment ahead of need.

• Making the most of our North Sea reserves, through reforms to the taxation, licensing and infrastructure arrangements for oil and gas exploration.

12. Create a Green Investment Bank

• A Green Investment Bank. A Conservative government would act to help mobilise investment by creating a Green Investment Bank. The Bank will consolidate within a single institution the existing disparate sources of public investment.