Most of the energy industry is in private hands (not nationalised) and only partially regulated.
1. Oil and gas prices are determined by international markets. A North Sea operator can chose where to ship the output. As the UK is not self sufficient it needs to buy top up supplies on the international market and pay the going rate.
The best from a taxpayer perspective is that windfall taxes are applied to North Sea output - what the government does with the money is a different matter.
2. Wind, solar and nuclear are fundamentally more difficult to export. Cables allow the import/export of electricity although there is no doubt a capacity constraint. Prices are unlikely to be as volatile as oil and gas anyway - cost are high investment and low running costs.
3. I would regard most of the spin produced by energy providers to be heavily laced with spin - investment in storage infrastructure and green generation will take several years. It is right to do it, but it is not a quick fix!
Last edited by: Terry on Sat 24 Jun 23 at 11:11
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