Households hit with higher bills in £1bn ‘racket’ that sees wind farms paid to turn off power
The boss of England’s largest energy provider says that households are facing higher bills because of a “racket ğı where wind farms are paid to stop production.
In the UK, especially Scotland, Yorkshire and North East-Labor’s underestimation of the country’s electricity sector until 2030, there are more than 2,500 wind farms of wind farms, after being planned after a ban on the new coastal places in England.
But talk IndependentGreg Jackson, the founder and general manager of Octopus Energy, said that the insufficient infrastructure for carrying the electricity produced by Wind Farms forced them to close, which added costs to consumers. –
This is due to the National Energy System Operator (Neso), pays to the wind farms for the amount of energy they will create when they need to close, and then crusts alternative energy sources such as gas stations to fill the gap in the national network.
Mr. Jackson, a leading advocate of the transition to Green Power, has put the cost of the policy to £ 1 billion since January this year. This is compared to £ 1.2 billion in 2024 and £ 780 million in 2023.
Some wind farms belong to companies operating gas plants, so they receive effective payment twice.
“The system operator is looking at a map and realizes that there is a group of generators to be paid, but they will not release the electricity due to network blockage, so they still pay them, and then find someone else to fill and pay the gaps,” he said. “This is a racket.”
Mr. Jackson named today Independent The Climate 100 list recognizes business leaders, innovators and defenders working to alleviate the impact of the climate crisis. In addition, on Tuesday, a part of the city’s effective climate week, the opening speech will be made at our second -year Climate 100 event in New York.
The increase in costs associated with wasted wind energy, which predicts that Mr. Jackson will reach £ 8 billion by 2030, is transferred to consumers. Thought tank carbon track Said application In 2023, £ 40 was added to the average UK household invoice. October 1’s households are also increasing £ 35 at the annual energy limit and pushing annual bills to £ 1,755.
Regulator ofgem He ordered energy projects to accelerate the electricity network connections, but Mr. Jackson said: “The editing will pay you for the electricity you can produce until you get the connection, ‘he said.
“This was like building a factory without roads and building a factory paid because you may have produced if there are roads … Initially, it was supposed to be a short -term plaster, but it was exploited by companies; and therefore they are increasingly income, not electricity, but they earn their income to be produced.
“These farms may be producing cheap electricity, and instead they remove our bills.”
Neso said that the cost of ‘restriction’ paid to prevent wind farms from producing power is currently a small household invoices up to 3.5 percent.
In North and Eastern Britain, with the opening of more land and open sea wind farms, he warned that the shortening price is “probable to increase, but a spokesman said that better infrastructure and electricity market arrangements could lead to lower costs for consumers.
Another way to help solve the problem is that Jackson is for “regional pricing olan, which will see that the current national market is divided into different regions, where the amount paid for electricity depends on the local supply and demand.
This means that the energy cost in Scotland, where most wind farms have most of the wind farms, may decrease, while prices will probably increase in Southeast England.
Supporters said the idea will encourage businesses to move to areas close to renewable energy sources and make the electricity network more efficient. It is also hoped that it will invest more in wind farms close to densely populated areas to meet the demand.
However, the idea was rejected in July to maintain a single national wholesale price, as Enerji Secretary Ed Miliband announced a pack of reforms, including plans to ma ma ma ma mapped new energy projects by 2050.
The Energy Security Department and the Net Zero spokesman said that the government has invested in the new network infrastructure to enable the government’s renewable projects such as wind farms to be built in the “right places and reshaping the rules of planning.
“Until 2030, the spokesman will meet the capacity to provide clean power,” he said.
Nevertheless, despite the ongoing clean energy investment, electricity prices in the UK It was almost 20 percent higher In the second half of last year, the EU average.
Rating the UK’s clean energy performance at 5/10, Mr. Jackson said, “Technology provides significant different service delivery in many markets in many markets and many markets. In a market like energy, these officials are dominant, leaving the change of lobbying and suffering consumers.”
Last month, he was appointed to the Cabinet Office Board as a non -executive. Although he will not focus on the energy that will be in conflict with his work, he hopes that the government can learn lessons from how the company works.
Founded only in 2016, Actopotic Energy, called “Big Six ve to get the largest market share in the UK, and now its revenues have reached almost $ 20 billion. It is the success of Mr. Jackson to the use of technology to reduce operating costs and improve service.
The company has also pioneered a plan that sees 5,000 “Zero Invoice” house equipped with solar panels and heat pumps.
Mr. Jackson said: “Most of what we do as a company is to combine the use of technology with an efficient organization to transform our service and transform our more agile. [the Cabinet] How we do it can provide better public services without increasing taxes. “
Jackson said that the government is one of the key issues that the government should discuss, Jackson added that too many people faced a decision between the cost of living and the climate.
“It is responsible for politicians and business leaders to ruthlessly reduce the cost of climate change, so [the public] Do not face this dilemma. “
But there are green shoots, Jackson said Jackson.
This year, the country is facing a “overturning point ında in the use of electric cars, the price of vehicles is now matched with gasoline alternatives and people can charge their vehicles at home.
The full climate 100 list can be found at the following address. Independent.co.uk/climat -00
