The Government published its second energy security plan, Powering Up Britain, in March 2023, setting out what the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit describes as "plans setting out how the government will enhance our country's energy security"1. It followed the British Energy Security Strategy, published in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine2.
The plan acknowledged at the time that a "record rise in global energy prices has led to an unavoidable increase in the cost of living in the UK, as we use gas both to generate electricity, and to heat the majority of our 28 million homes", and that because the UK is "part of a global market, the price we pay for gas is set internationally"2. The ECIU, an independent non-profit, later assessed progress against the commitments made. Two years on from the 2022 strategy, it found the Government had "only achieved three out of ten major commitments it made to boost the UK's energy security"2. It said the Government was not on track to insulate the 450,000 homes it had committed to, and that despite a commitment to annual offshore wind auctions, only two new offshore wind farms had been secured since the report, with none at the last auction in 20232. It credited the increase and extension of the heat pump grant under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, but noted the delay of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, which sets boiler manufacturers heat pump sales targets2.
On imports, the ECIU reported that over 40% of the UK's energy was imported in 2022, mainly from Norway and the US, and that the UK spent £3.5bn importing electricity from Europe via interconnectors2. It said energy production had fallen by two-thirds since 2000 while demand had dropped by only a third, moving Britain from a net exporter to a significant net importer, with oil production at the lowest level since records began and gas output at its second lowest2. On the North Sea, it said the Government was putting a Bill through Parliament to require the North Sea Transition Authority to hold annual auctions for new oil and gas drilling, a move the regulator itself described as "unnecessary"2.
"The UK has had two energy security strategies within two years and we're still going backwards, becoming more dependent on foreign imports. As a country we've spent more than £100bn on gas over the crisis with the bill payer and taxpayer bearing the brunt."
A separate ECIU assessment, published in March 2024, said that in the year after Powering Up Britain the Government had "doubled down" on its approach, citing the September 2023 speech in which the Prime Minister announced the scrapping of regulations to improve the energy efficiency of private rental homes, the scrapping of plans to replace oil boilers, and a change to the phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars1. It put figures on those changes:
| Change | Projected effect |
|---|---|
| Scrapped private rental efficiency regulations | 2.4 million households using less imported gas for heating1 |
| Scrapped oil boiler replacement plans | 1 million households using no imported oil for heating1 |
| Changed petrol and diesel phase-out | Projected fall in sales of 2.8 million EVs1 |
The same assessment said delays to offshore wind meant the UK could miss out on electricity generation 22 times larger than could be generated from gas under new North Sea licences, with a cumulative net loss of about 150TWh of offshore wind production by 2030, and that replacing that lost wind generation with gas power would drive up gas imports by 300TWh over six years1.
Why it matters for households
The plan's own framing ties household bills to international gas prices, because gas is used both to generate electricity and to heat most of the country's 28 million homes2. That link is the practical core of energy independence for a home: the less a property relies on gas for heat, the less its running costs are exposed to a price set internationally rather than in the UK. The measures the ECIU tracked sit on both sides of that line. Insulation reduces the amount of energy a home needs in the first place, and heat pumps running on electricity shift heating demand away from gas, while the delay to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism affects the supply of the equipment itself2. The ECIU's figures on import dependence, including the £3.5bn spent on electricity imports via interconnectors in 2022, describe the national picture rather than any individual bill, but they are the backdrop against which household decisions on heating and efficiency are made2.
What happens next
The ECIU reports no further dated commitments from the plan itself. It notes that the Government is putting a Bill through Parliament to require annual licensing rounds for new North Sea oil and gas, which the North Sea Transition Authority has described as "unnecessary"2. The ECIU's assessments of the plan's commitments were published in March and April 20242.