Key Facts

• Energy prices are nearly double what they were two years ago, with the cap set at over £2,000 this month compared to £1,138 in April 2021.
• People on prepayment meters face difficulties as they can access only £5 or £10 of credit before their energy supply is cut off.
• Prepayment meter users are 65% more likely than the average person to live in a damp house, with 31% of them living in such conditions compared to 19% of the general population.
• Research indicated that up to 14% of 4.5 million households with prepayment meters did not choose these tariffs.
• Since the end of lockdown, energy firms have secured almost 500,000 court warrants for meter installation in homes of customers in debt.
• In the first six months of last year, there were 180,000 applications for such warrants.
• £120 million worth of vouchers issued to prepayment meter customers remain unclaimed as of June start date.
• An undercover report by The Times highlighted British Gas employing debt collectors to break into homes of vulnerable customers.
• A code of practice was introduced by Ofgem in April, but it is voluntary rather than compulsory.
• New clause 38 aims to restrict the use of prepayment meters for vulnerable consumers.
• Ofgem has published a new code of practice to improve protections for customers being moved to prepayment meters.
• New clauses aim to restrict the installation of new prepayment meters and require consumer consent, especially for vulnerable individuals.
• Energy UK supports a 'Net Zero compatibility test' in legislative impact assessments.
• The Prime Minister created the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
• A Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Committee was established to coordinate a cross-government approach.
• Green Book supplementary guidance helps officials in appraising policies related to net zero.
• The US Inflation Reduction Act focuses on ensuring job continuity as energy-intensive states move away from fossil fuels.
• The local authority delivery scheme under the Green Homes Grant had a 35% underspend due to labour shortages.
• Some 19 million homes need retrofitting to meet decent energy efficiency standards.
• The UK is the first G7 country to sign the North Sea Transition Deal.
• The deal supports 40,000 jobs across industrial heartlands in the UK.
• The green jobs delivery group will publish a net zero and nature workforce action plan by 2024.
• The Government's current programme is insufficient in creating green jobs.
• New Clause 38 proposes restricting the installation of new prepayment meters with conditions for consumer consent and protection for vulnerable consumers.
• New Clause 39 mandates Ofgem to set out a licence guaranteeing equivalent protections for heat network customers within three months after the Act's passage.
• The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations require all tenancies to have an EPC of at least Band C by 31 December 2028.
• Cost cap for improvements raised to £10,000.
• Local Authorities will be able to inspect properties and request permissions from landlords and tenants.
• The PRS Exemptions Register is expanded into a property compliance database.
• Financial penalties for non-compliance can reach up to £30,000 per breach per property.
• The Oil and Gas Authority name change to North Sea Transition Authority.
• The Oil and Gas Authority was originally incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 as a limited company.
• The Energy Act 2016 renamed the OGA to the Oil and Gas Authority and established specific duties for it.
• The name change to North Sea Transition Authority lacks legal basis according to Mr. Whitehead.
• The proposed new clause aims to insert "North Sea Transition Authority" in place of all references to "the OGA" throughout the Energy Act 2016.
• In March 2022, the Oil and Gas Authority changed its trading name to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
• The NSTA’s revised strategy under section 9A of the Petroleum Act 1998 includes an obligation to assist in meeting the UK's Net Zero target.
• The Government’s North sea transition deal could support up to 40,000 jobs and generate up to £14 billion to £16 billion of investment by 2030.
• Section 41 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 mandates reports on petroleum economic recovery.
• The Secretary of State should produce reports after each two-year period but none have been found.
• Removing sections 9A to 9I from the Petroleum Act would not affect North sea production.
• Stranded assets could result in £1.4 trillion of unused oil, gas, and fossil fuel resources.
• If we wait 10 years to address climate change, GDP expenditure on resilience alone could jump from 1% to 8%.
• The cost of changing to a green energy system could double if action is delayed.
• The UK has decarbonised faster than any other G7 nation.
• The UK coast hosts the first four largest offshore wind farms in the world.
• By 2035, the UK will have the first net zero offshore oil and gas sector.
• Labour's former Aberdeen City Council leader criticized Just Stop Oil plans as worse for the industry than Margaret Thatcher’s policies in the 1980s.
• The North Sea Transition Authority must secure maximum value of economically recoverable petroleum while assisting in meeting net zero targets.
• Section 9D of the Petroleum Act 1998 was repealed by paragraph 10 of schedule 1 to the Energy Act 2016.
• Offshore Energies UK's 'Vision 2035' plan aims for the North Sea to become the world’s first net-zero basin.