The Prime Minister’s recent op-ed in The Guardian, announcing the launch of the £30m Great British Energy Community Fund, re-emphasised his commitment to bring power to every postcode, mitigate climate change, and deliver on Labour’s election commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
However, conspicuous in its absence was any mention of Clean Power 2030 (CP2030). Nor was it mentioned in the Government’s press release announcing the launch of the fund. So why does the Government appear to have gone from “doubling down” to dialling it back in discussing its CP2030 target?
Clean Power 2030 in the context of rising energy bills
For Secretary of State Miatta Fahnbulleh MP, “the number one priority is to make sure we [the Government] are getting bills down”. The current system, she suggests, is not working for consumers.
A recent National Audit Office report found that the UK is at risk of falling short of the £70bn investment needed in the grid to accommodate the renewables for CP2030. This would result in higher short-term costs for consumers, primarily through increased constraint costs before the transmission network upgrades are complete.
While CP2030 may come at a high upfront cost, consumers are already paying a price for the UK’s exposure to geopolitical events and international fossil fuel markets. Average household bills are predicted to rise by 30 per cent from January 2026 to January 2027, according to EDF.
At last year’s Labour Party Conference, former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband MP argued that:
“Today, bills remain high because wholesale gas prices are still 75% higher than before Russia invaded Ukraine.
We’re at the mercy of the petrostates and dictators.
And the only way out of it is our mission for clean power by 2030.”
Nonetheless, even if CP2030 provides better protection to households in the future, potential short-term price increases may be difficult to stomach for a Government seeking to give breathing room on voters’ bills.
Introducing DES?
In its report on reframing the energy transition, the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee argues that the CP2030 commitment should be strengthened and the Government should be explicit in saying that this is in response to the Middle East crisis. The proposed framing poses an interesting question for the direction of travel that the Government takes on energy policy, and whether CP2030 is viewed as part of shielding households from, or a contributing driving force behind, rising energy costs.
Rather than CP2030, the Committee’s report recommends dropping ‘NZ’ from DESNZ and focusing on ‘ES’, arguing that ‘net zero’ has lost its positive association and is increasingly being used as a lightning rod for opposition to climate action.
Clean Power 2030 at Labour Conference
The Prime Minister said he will “clear the decks of all things that might distract” from financial security, whilst sticking to the 2024 Labour Manifesto commitments.
Next week, Miatta Fahnbulleh MP will be tasked with stitching these different priorities together in her first party conference speech as the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. She told The Times last month that her job is to keep the 81 per cent of the public that support renewables on side, and suggested prioritising affordability over targets.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen whether CP2030 can survive either engineering or political reality. The Great British Energy Community Fund announcement may be an indicator of a mission quietly cast aside. This presents an opportunity for industry stakeholders seeking to engage with the Government to consider how their activity and policy asks align with the benefits of clean energy felt by households and businesses, beyond targets being met.
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