To say that the UK energy market is in a state of crisis, would be an understatement.
In a 2019 survey, 62% of members of the Federation of Small Businesses said that energy was a key component of the cost of running their business. In 2022 I would suggest that that same 62% are wondering how they are going to keep their doors open. More and more small businesses are becoming victims of fuel poverty, sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
How can a commercial enterprise not afford to pay its energy bills?
Well, when you’re running a pub, and your monthly energy spend has increased from £1,500 to £4,500, while at the same time your suppliers have increased prices for all your fundamental products: beer, wine, and spirits. And at the same time, you are seeing fewer people through the doors, and those fewer people are spending less due to the cost of living crisis. Then pin that on the back of a worldwide pandemic, that decimated your industry and you’re in a perfect storm, or as close to one as I would ever like to be. This scenario is being played out in different industries, in different towns and cities up and down the country.
What’s the solution?
Well, that’s simple, we just need to generate more electricity and accelerate the electrification of the country. What about the price of Oil? Gas? isn’t that a major driving force in the energy crisis? Yes, it is. There is only one viable option and we need to start work on it TODAY, that option, if you didn’t already know, is predominantly nuclear with a mix of renewable’s, when available.
Nuclear energy is the only viable option for powering our homes and economy. Wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, etc all have their place. However, there are times when the sun doesn’t shine and when the wind doesn’t blow. Nuclear energy is the only power source that is reliable, scalable, and not reliant on commodities that we have no control over, such as Gas and Oil. Yes, it has its challenges, however, we have the technology to overcome these.
What are the other options?
You tell me, I’d love to hear them. For me it’s simple, we invest NOW in nuclear, or we go backward as a society and as a developed economy. The UK is not big enough anymore to compete in the geopolitical squabbles for Gas and Oil that are currently playing out all over the world. We have neither the resources nor the desire to compete against, China, Russia, and shortly India for oil and gas on the world stage.
We go Nuclear or we go bust.
Its that simple.
