Sunak sets bills as new energy department’s year one focus

The new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will initially focus on cutting energy bills before moving onto longer term goals, including pan-government coordination of net zero, according to the new ministry’s mission statement.

A paper issued by No 10 Downing Street on Tuesday (7 February) evening outlines the key priorities for the four government departments, which were either set up or remodelled in Rishi Sunak’s re-organisation of Whitehall.

In his foreword to the report, the prime minister writes that the new energy and net zero department will focus on giving the UK “cheaper, cleaner, more secure sources of energy – cutting bills, cutting emissions, and cutting our dependence on international energy supplies, like those of Putin’s Russia”.

A section setting out the department’s mission states that it will provide “dedicated leadership” focused on delivering security of energy supply, ensuring “properly functioning markets”, greater energy efficiency and “seizing” opportunities to lead the world in new green industries.

During its first year, the paper says the department will focus on “easing the cost of living and delivering financial security by bringing down energy bills and keeping them down”.

Longer term objectives include ensuring energy markets are properly functioning; co-ordinating net zero objectives across government; and bringing “external delivery expertise to bear on its portfolio of major projects”.

The paper identifies the new department’s six priority outcomes as:

• ensuring security of energy supply this winter, next winter and in the longer-term – bringing down energy bills
• ensuring that the UK is on track to meet its legally binding net zero commitments and support economic growth by “significantly speeding up” delivery of network infrastructure and domestic energy production
• improving the energy efficiency of UK homes, businesses and public sector buildings to meet the 15% demand reduction ambition
• delivering current schemes to support energy consumers with their bills and develop options for ‘long-term’ reform to improve the operation of the electricity market
• seizing the economic benefits of net zero, including  through investment in new green industries
• passing the Energy Bill to support the CCUS (carbon capture use and storage) and hydrogen sectors; to update the governance of the energy system; and reduce the time taken to consent offshore wind

The new department inherits the energy portfolio from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which has been broken up.

The document also confirms that the new department will be headed by Jeremy Pocklington, who has been appointed permanent secretary.

Pocklington was director general, energy and security at BEIS for nearly two years until 2018, prior to which he was director general of the markets and infrastructure group at the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Before today’s government shake-up, he served as permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

His second Permanent Secretary is Clive Maxwell, who currently holds the same position at BEIS.

They will be joined by Ashley Ibbett, Jonathan Mills, Lee McDonough and Ben Rimmington, who are respectively BEIS’ directors-general for  energy infrastructure, net zero, nuclear and international, energy markets and supply, net zero buildings and industry.

Professor Paul Monks, BEIS chief scientific adviser, is also joining the new department.

The government also confirmed that energy ministers Graham Stuart and Lord Callanan will both transfer to the new department.

And two new junior ministerial roles have been created for MPs Andrew Bowie and Amanda Solloway, who doubles up as a government whip.