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The boss of SSE has called on the government to create “both a short term and long term strategy” for energy to remove some of the uncertainty following last month’s Brexit vote.
He said Britain needed “secure, clean and affordable energy” before the referendum took place and “this hasn’t changed”.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said the government should first of all ensure that the capacity market auction due to take in December goes ahead as planned. “It was therefore encouraging to hear last week that the referendum result does not appear to have derailed the government’s plans in this area,” he said.
Secondly, it should “make headway” on low-carbon investment. The previous chancellor George Osborne said a decision would be made later this year on the level of the carbon price floor beyond 2020/21. Phillips-Davies said the decision “should not be derailed by Brexit negotiations”. He said the contracts for difference auction scheduled for later this year must also go ahead as planned.
Finally, customers and affordability “must remain paramount”. There should be progress on the next national home insulation scheme and it will need to have a “clear and distinct focus on the vulnerable”. The infrastructure needed for the deployment of smart meters must be “fit for purpose and in place as soon as possible”.
“Good inroads are being made but this one of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects, touching every home in the country and we have to get this right first time,” he added.
Phillips-Davies said taking these steps would allow the government to “keep momentum on energy policy through the short to medium term”. He said a longer term strategy will need to be considered carefully “to ensure that the UK learns lessons from the past and keeps pace with changes coming in the future from new smarter technologies.”
Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has previously said energy policy will not change due the vote to leave the European Union.
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