Thatcher’s energy secretary queries electric heat drive

Margaret Thatcher’s first energy secretary has questioned whether the UK has the “slightest clue” about how the extra power required to electrify heat can be delivered as recently pushed for by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).

Conservative peer Lord Howell of Guildford made the statements during a House of Lords debate on the NIC’s National Infrastructure Assessment that concluded “no public policy case” exists for using hydrogen in heating.

Lord Howell of Guildford, who served as energy secretary from 1979 until 1981, cast doubt on the NIC’s finding that using hydrogen for heat would be “too difficult”.

He said: “It (the NIC) wants to dig up or close down entirely the existing retail gas distribution system as well, because it thinks it does not fit in with our global aims […] and it wants to turn us into an all-electric economy.

“But have we got the slightest clue where all this extra electricity will come from, how it will be transmitted and delivered, and how that can be done at reasonable cost to the consumer?

“Until we have a clearer view on those things, it is very hard to just say that we welcome the NIC report.”

Responding on behalf of the government, junior energy minister Lord Callanan assured peers that plans in the pipeline for new nuclear, offshore wind and solar developments means there will be “ample supplies” of electricity for heating available.

He said there will “some important” uses for hydrogen, but whether these include home heating is “a separate question”.

Lord Callanan also told fellow peers that the government will announce a decision on controversial proposals to run a whole village hydrogen heating trial in Redcar “very shortly”. Utility Week understands that this could be as soon as next week.

Last week, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s leader wrote to current energy secretary Claire Coutinho warning that opposition to the hydrogen village trial is “growing” in the local area.

Alec Brown, who heads the Labour-run Teesside administration, called on the energy security and net zero secretary to gauge the extent of support for the trial in the village where it is due to take place.

Redcar also saw a protest march in October against the proposed trial.

In the Lords debate, Lord Callanan said heat pumps and heat networks would be the “primary means of decarbonising heat for the foreseeable future”, playing the “major role” in such efforts.

He also said the government will be consulting “very shortly” on its future homes standard, which will revamp the building regulations to improve energy efficiency and decarbonisation of new build properties.