The British government’s energy regulator has warned that the ‘Net Zero’ green agenda will likely hit the poorest households the hardest particularly following years of economic hardship that have forced many into debt traps.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) regulator warned on Monday that the transition to the so-called green economy and the goal of achieving ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions “could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers” who cannot afford to purchase technology compliant with government standards or to change their behaviours.
Ofgem noted that energy customer debts have soared by 50 per cent over the past year, alone, totalling £3 billion and therefore it remains “very concerned that struggling households have a limited ability to cope with future price shocks.”
“The cost of recovering bad debts, and the high number of consumers who are locked into debt and repayment plans, could have serious consequences for the retail energy sector,” the regulator said per London’s Daily Telegraph.
Ofgem said that economic hardships have already led British consumers to ration their energy use, which has led to “harms associated with living in a cold, damp home,” which they noted could lead to increased levels of mental illness.
The director general of Ofgem Tim Jarvis commented: “The growing level of debt means a longer-term approach is needed to ensure we have a stronger market and the right support for struggling consumers to protect them from future price shocks and ensure all consumers benefit from the transition to a new cleaner, more secure energy system.”
“We have taken action already – changing standing charges for [prepayment meter] customers so they are not charged more than anyone else and toughening up requirements on suppliers to take care of their customers,” he added.
The admission from Ofgem is the latest from the establishment in Britain that rather than the economic panacea promised to the public, the green agenda comes with heavy costs, particularly for the working and lower classes of society.
In November, a top advisor for the Bank of England Catherine Mann acknowledged that climate-inspired policies of the poorly-named Conservative government were a significant contributor of inflation, thereby raising the cost of goods while hampering economic productivity.
The Tory Party’s green governance has not only negatively impacted the nation’s economic standing, it has also become a threat to the country’s national security, a report from the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy found last year. The report noted that so-called renewable energy sources are more susceptible to failures during extreme weather events than gas or other fossil fuels.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his government plans to build new gas-powered stations to mitigate the pitfalls of green energy sources such as solar and wind.
“When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, this is how we will keep your lights on and your bills down,” Sunak wrote in The Telegraph. “It is the insurance policy Britain needs to protect our energy security, while we deliver our net zero transition.”
However, given that the neo-liberal prime minister used one of his first acts in office to reinstitute the ban on fracking, it means that in order to fill up those gas power stations, the UK will still be reliant on foreign nations to meet its energy needs.