{"id":437613,"date":"2026-04-07T05:15:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T12:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437613"},"modified":"2026-04-08T00:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:10:03","slug":"why-your-energy-bill-is-so-high-kathryn-porter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=437613","title":{"rendered":"Why Your Energy Bill is So High (Kathryn\u00a0Porter)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"719\" data-attachment-id=\"437865\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437865\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?fit=1100%2C1095&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1100,1095\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0,54851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?fit=723%2C719&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=723%2C719&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437865\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=1024%2C1019&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=768%2C765&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=640%2C637&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?resize=50%2C50&amp;ssl=1 50w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?w=1100&amp;ssl=1 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/2026\/04\/05\/why-your-energy-bill-is-so-high-kathryn-porter\/\">Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/author\/ronaldrc\/\">Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"723\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R9JJvMFHdJo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A part of Battle of Ideas Festival 2025 was the above presentation explaining plainly why UK energy has become so expensive. For those who prefer reading, below is a transcript with my added bolds and images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"516\" data-attachment-id=\"437621\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437621\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?fit=802%2C572&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"802,572\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?fit=723%2C516&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?resize=723%2C516&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?w=802&amp;ssl=1 802w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?resize=768%2C548&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?resize=640%2C456&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-79.png?resize=800%2C572&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/electric-bill-jump.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why are our electricity bills so high?\u00a0<strong>We\u2019re told<\/strong>\u00a0as Craig referenced that<strong>\u00a0it\u2019s all the fault of gas<\/strong>. Now this argument is going to come to somewhat crashing reality in the next year. I was just checking the\u00a0<strong>prices<\/strong>\u00a0now and from yesterday\u2019s close we\u2019re\u00a0<strong>now<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>87 percent down from the highs in 2022.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Now has\u00a0<strong>anybody seen an 87 percent reduction in their bills,<\/strong>\u00a0hands up, anybody? Oh that\u2019s a huge shock. Next year gas analysts expect that the gas price will return to its long-term average pre-2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"456\" data-attachment-id=\"437624\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437624\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?fit=723%2C456&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"723,456\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?fit=723%2C456&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?resize=723%2C456&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?w=723&amp;ssl=1 723w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?resize=300%2C189&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-80.png?resize=640%2C404&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the gas crisis actually began in the autumn of 2021, about six months before the invasion of Ukraine and it was to do with the recovery from COVID. \u00a0Basically\u00a0<strong>during COVID demand for gas fell because industrial activity dropped<\/strong>, a lot of upstream production was shut in and it takes time to bring that back, you can\u2019t just turn on the tap in most cases, it requires quite a bit more work than that. So there was a<strong>\u00a0delay in bringing that production back online<\/strong>\u00a0and when you have more demand than you\u2019ve got supply then prices go up and then Putin took advantage of this in the following February and well we all know what happened then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"723\" data-attachment-id=\"437627\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437627\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?fit=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?fit=723%2C723&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=723%2C723&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=450%2C450&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=550%2C550&amp;ssl=1 550w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?resize=50%2C50&amp;ssl=1 50w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-81.png?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then in the upstream sector they\u2019ve been busy bringing<strong>\u00a0new LNG, liquefied natural gas projects,<\/strong>\u00a0on stream. \u00a0By the end of this year there\u2019ll be enough new LNG to fully replace all of Russian gas and sometime next year we\u2019re expecting the global gas market to go back into length. So there\u2019ll be<strong>\u00a0more supply globally<\/strong>\u00a0than there is demand and\u00a0<strong>prices are expected to fall.<\/strong>\u00a0In fact the only reason why Miliband could possibly deliver the 300 pound reduction in bills would be because of gas prices falling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately I think he\u2019s going to more than offset that with higher subsidy costs. So the first thing is that gas is not expensive and really for 25 years we had very low and very stable gas prices. Gas was cheap, in fact<strong>\u00a0the cheapness of gas was what enabled the energy transition to even begin<\/strong>. I wrote a report earlier in the year about the cost of renewables, if you do a chart that shows the wholesale price of gas, the wholesale price of electricity and then the domestic price of electricity what you find is that the wholesale gas price was low and stable until 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"556\" height=\"352\" data-attachment-id=\"437630\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437630\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-82.png?fit=556%2C352&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"556,352\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-82.png?fit=556%2C352&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-82.png?resize=556%2C352&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-82.png?w=556&amp;ssl=1 556w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-82.png?resize=300%2C190&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 556px) 100vw, 556px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The wholesale electricity price was basically the wholesale gas price plus a little bit which is what you\u2019d expect and then the\u00a0<strong>domestic price was the wholesale price of electricity plus a little bit<\/strong>. And again you\u2019d expect that you buy a wholesale, you pay for it to be delivered to your house, you\u2019ve got to pay the supplier some money for you know doing the admin for that, they want to take a bit of profit, there\u2019s some taxes, that\u2019s what you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"462\" data-attachment-id=\"437633\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437633\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?fit=1184%2C757&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1184,757\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?fit=723%2C462&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?resize=723%2C462&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?resize=1024%2C655&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?resize=300%2C192&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?resize=768%2C491&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?resize=640%2C409&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-83.png?w=1184&amp;ssl=1 1184w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Figure 4 \u2013 International Domestic Electricity Prices (p per kWh). UK has the highest domestic electricity prices in the IEA<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>But from 2006 this relationship started to break down<\/strong>\u00a0and what we saw was a steep increase in what households were paying despite a flat trajectory for wholesale prices. Why was this? It was because we were\u00a0<strong>adding on policy costs<\/strong>. We\u2019re\u00a0<strong>subsidizing renewables,<\/strong>\u00a0we started\u00a0<strong>using suppliers to do all sorts of other social programs,<\/strong>\u00a0wealth redistribution, literally the warm homes discount is suppliers. \u00a0They phone up the department for work and pensions and they find out which of their customers are eligible and then they calculate how much that discount is going to cost and then they add on an admin fee and then they spread that cost out across all our other customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"350\" data-attachment-id=\"437637\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437637\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?fit=800%2C387&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,387\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?fit=723%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?resize=723%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?resize=300%2C145&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?resize=768%2C372&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-84.png?resize=640%2C310&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They take money from one group of customers to give to another.\u00a0<strong>This is wealth redistribution, it\u2019s not the job of private companies<\/strong>. The energy company obligation, we\u2019ve heard about that in the news this week where I think the National Audit Office has written a report saying<strong>\u00a0how inefficient it is, how low quality the work is.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Well guess what, energy companies are not experts in construction. They are being expected to engage in sub contracts to companies that will come in and install insulation and similar things in your home. They don\u2019t know anything about this, this isn\u2019t part of their core business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"399\" data-attachment-id=\"437640\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437640\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?fit=1068%2C589&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1068,589\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?fit=723%2C399&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?resize=723%2C399&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?resize=1024%2C565&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?resize=300%2C165&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?resize=768%2C424&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?resize=640%2C353&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-85.png?w=1068&amp;ssl=1 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Typically as wind and solar power share of supply increases, distribution and transmission costs rise sharply.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a hugely inefficient thing to expect suppliers to do and the cost of all that is added to bills.\u00a0 The\u00a0<strong>smart meter rollout,<\/strong>\u00a0we\u2019re the only country in the world that expects<strong>\u00a0suppliers, retailers, to install network equipment in people\u2019s homes<\/strong>. Everyone else got the network companies to do it, you know, duh. \u00a0And what\u2019s even worse is that the supply business was created within the Utility Act 2000. It was the final part of unbundling the energy system and almost immediately both the governments and the regulators started telling everyone that suppliers were greedy profiteers that couldn\u2019t be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then they expressed shock that<strong>\u00a0nobody wants these greedy profiteers who can\u2019t be trusted<\/strong>\u00a0to install devices in their home that would give the greedy suppliers that can\u2019t be trusted lots of information about how they\u2019re using electricity and gas and potentially enable them to change your prices remotely, put you onto prepayment tariffs remotely and do all sorts of other stuff remotely, potentially without your permission. \u00a0And they were just kind of shocked that people didn\u2019t want to do that. So the whole market is completely dysfunctional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"263\" data-attachment-id=\"437643\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437643\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?fit=965%2C351&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"965,351\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?fit=723%2C263&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?resize=723%2C263&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?w=965&amp;ssl=1 965w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?resize=300%2C109&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?resize=768%2C279&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-86.png?resize=640%2C233&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/energy-old-new-no-1.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, when we come to<strong>\u00a0the real costs and the real reasons that our bills are so high has to do with renewables.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When we build renewable generation, we have to provide a big subsidy. Now, a lot of people think, well,<strong>\u00a0the wind and the sun are free.<\/strong>\u00a0And this is true. Wind energy and solar energy is free.\u00a0<strong>But the equipment needed to turn that energy into electricity is not free. That\u2019s actually pretty expensive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"303\" data-attachment-id=\"437646\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437646\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-87.png?fit=400%2C303&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,303\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-87.png?fit=400%2C303&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-87.png?resize=400%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-87.png?w=400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-87.png?resize=300%2C227&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, imagine that we only had renewables on our grid. And when you\u2019re setting prices,<strong>\u00a0normally, the price at which you sell your goods is linked to your short run marginal operating cost, which for wind and solar is close to zero.<\/strong>\u00a0Essentially, you\u2019d be giving it away. \u00a0How are you going to recover your capital costs for that expensive equipment if you have to give away your products? You\u2019re never going to be able to do it. So\u00a0<strong>basic economic theory will tell you that renewables will never be built without subsidies.<\/strong>\u00a0They are always going to require subsidies because you will\u00a0<strong>never be able to recover the capital costs<\/strong>\u00a0to selling the electricity at the short run marginal operating cost of that electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"710\" data-attachment-id=\"437651\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437651\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?fit=1080%2C1060&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1060\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0windmills-zero-gain\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?fit=723%2C710&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=723%2C710&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=1024%2C1005&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=300%2C294&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=768%2C754&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=640%2C628&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?resize=50%2C50&amp;ssl=1 50w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0windmills-zero-gain.png?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we give<strong>\u00a0subsidies to renewables.<\/strong>\u00a0And that subsidy is\u00a0<strong>higher than the cost of generating electricity with gas.<\/strong>\u00a0So the argument about gas pushing your bills up is nonsense. These subsidies are higher than the cost of generating electricity with gas. And the way the new subsidies work is that the\u00a0<strong>generators are guaranteed a fixed price,<\/strong>\u00a0and they receive that by selling that electricity in the market. And then if that\u2019s lower than this fixed price, they get a top up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it\u2019s a one for one relationship. If you\u00a0<strong>lower the wholesale price of electricity by one pound, you increase the subsidy cost by one pound<\/strong>. And the subsidies are added to our bills. They come\u00a0<strong>straight out of our pockets<\/strong>. So when people say, oh, we\u2019ve got to get off gas, we\u2019ve got to stop marginal pricing. People talk about marginal pricing as if we\u2019re some weird outlier in the world markets doing this strange marginal pricing thing,<strong>\u00a0taking the most expensive form of generation to set the price.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"494\" height=\"624\" data-attachment-id=\"437654\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437654\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-88.png?fit=494%2C624&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"494,624\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-88.png?fit=494%2C624&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-88.png?resize=494%2C624&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437654\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-88.png?w=494&amp;ssl=1 494w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-88.png?resize=238%2C300&amp;ssl=1 238w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 494px) 100vw, 494px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every deregulated power market in the world sets the electricity price through marginal pricing. In fact, most commodity markets do the same thing. This isn\u2019t weird. It\u2019s completely normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you decided to change price formation to<strong>\u00a0lower the wholesale price, your bill will stay the same.<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re just moving money in different buckets around the bill. Now the bit that says wholesale price will go down, and the bit that says policy costs will go up. But the amount you pay will stay the same. And so this is the whole misinformation that we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"330\" data-attachment-id=\"437657\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437657\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?fit=2563%2C1170&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2563,1170\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?fit=723%2C330&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=723%2C330&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437657\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=1024%2C467&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=300%2C137&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=768%2C351&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=1536%2C701&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=2048%2C935&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=640%2C292&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?resize=1200%2C548&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?w=1446&amp;ssl=1 1446w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-89.png?w=2169&amp;ssl=1 2169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The other issues with renewables are you\u2019ve got to pay for backup<\/strong>. They have low energy density, so you need<strong>\u00a0a lot more wires to connect them.<\/strong>\u00a0A good sized gas power station, 800 megawatts. If you wanted an equivalent size wind farm, you need 60 turbines. So that\u2019s 60 times more wires. But to get the same amount of electricity over the year, because your wind is only working about a third of the time compared with about 86% of the time for gas, you need something like 150 times the wires. You need 150 turbines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"496\" data-attachment-id=\"437660\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437660\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?fit=915%2C628&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"915,628\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?fit=723%2C496&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?resize=723%2C496&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?w=915&amp;ssl=1 915w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?resize=300%2C206&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?resize=768%2C527&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-90.png?resize=640%2C439&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All that gets\u00a0<strong>added onto your bills. The cost of backup<\/strong>\u00a0to make sure you\u2019ve got generation available when it\u2019s not windy and sunny, that goes straight onto the bill. \u00a0<strong>And the real-time balancing cost<\/strong>, where you\u2019re having to even out the impact of clouds and gusts of wind, all goes on the bill. And so this is\u00a0<strong>why our bills are so high.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"257\" data-attachment-id=\"437663\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=437663\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?fit=1349%2C479&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1349,479\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?fit=723%2C257&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=723%2C257&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-437663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=1024%2C364&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=300%2C107&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=768%2C273&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=640%2C227&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?resize=1200%2C426&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-91.png?w=1349&amp;ssl=1 1349w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why are our electricity bills so high? We\u2019re told as Craig referenced that it\u2019s all the fault of gas. Now this argument is going to come to somewhat crashing reality in the next year. I was just checking the prices now and from yesterday\u2019s close we\u2019re now 87 percent down from the highs in 2022.  Now has anybody seen an 87 percent reduction in their bills, hands up, anybody? Oh that\u2019s a huge shock. Next year gas analysts expect that the gas price will return to its long-term average pre-2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":437865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821122,691819432,691823612,691826783,691819094],"class_list":["post-437613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-finance","tag-energy-policies","tag-kathryn-porter","tag-massive-subsidies","tag-renewable-green-energy","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1PQh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":407439,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=407439","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":0},"title":"Have Renewables Overtaken\u00a0Coal?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kathryn Porter mentioned claims that renewables were now supplying more electricity than coal on a worldwide basis.","rel":"","context":"In \"Kathryn Porter\"","block_context":{"text":"Kathryn Porter","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=kathryn-porter"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":413556,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=413556","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":1},"title":"How Do We Keep the Lights On? Kathryn Porter\u2019s\u00a0Speech","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/17\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kathryn Porter has posted up the transcript of her speech this week to the Institute of Power Engineers:","rel":"","context":"In \"CCGT fleet\"","block_context":{"text":"CCGT fleet","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ccgt-fleet"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQOuFVg3q28eoNhxjHhCOR6fJ9gmJXbV4s5ZdQurImMV11fdAvWllGFR3bcqk9jPnFyS2E-R4n_T-rR6mj0NhdPwiX3U_-dRnrPDVz7SKVO-M2O8Up6C3QHLOiHEZq1-.jpeg?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQOuFVg3q28eoNhxjHhCOR6fJ9gmJXbV4s5ZdQurImMV11fdAvWllGFR3bcqk9jPnFyS2E-R4n_T-rR6mj0NhdPwiX3U_-dRnrPDVz7SKVO-M2O8Up6C3QHLOiHEZq1-.jpeg?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQOuFVg3q28eoNhxjHhCOR6fJ9gmJXbV4s5ZdQurImMV11fdAvWllGFR3bcqk9jPnFyS2E-R4n_T-rR6mj0NhdPwiX3U_-dRnrPDVz7SKVO-M2O8Up6C3QHLOiHEZq1-.jpeg?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQOuFVg3q28eoNhxjHhCOR6fJ9gmJXbV4s5ZdQurImMV11fdAvWllGFR3bcqk9jPnFyS2E-R4n_T-rR6mj0NhdPwiX3U_-dRnrPDVz7SKVO-M2O8Up6C3QHLOiHEZq1-.jpeg?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQOuFVg3q28eoNhxjHhCOR6fJ9gmJXbV4s5ZdQurImMV11fdAvWllGFR3bcqk9jPnFyS2E-R4n_T-rR6mj0NhdPwiX3U_-dRnrPDVz7SKVO-M2O8Up6C3QHLOiHEZq1-.jpeg?fit=1200%2C686&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":287377,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287377","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":2},"title":"New paper reveals sorry state of GB\u00a0nuclear","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/10\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The UK Government\u2019s commitment to nuclear power has strengthened significantly in recent years as concerns over energy security have risen, due to the uncertainty created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a growing realisation of the risks posed by a reliance on renewable generation. Nuclear power has no carbon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Great British Nuclear\"","block_context":{"text":"Great British Nuclear","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=great-british-nuclear"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0SMR-Model-1-scaled-e1661789959351.webp?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0SMR-Model-1-scaled-e1661789959351.webp?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0SMR-Model-1-scaled-e1661789959351.webp?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0SMR-Model-1-scaled-e1661789959351.webp?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0SMR-Model-1-scaled-e1661789959351.webp?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":283132,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=283132","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":3},"title":"Investors are starting to abandon clean green energy as they realize it\u2019s never going to be cheap","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/13\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Investing in a green transition will lower electricity prices, free funding from entrenched fossil fuel subsidies and create new jobs all over the world is a myth. From JoNova By Jo Nova Image by\u00a0ThankYouFantasyPictures\u00a0from\u00a0Pixabay Kathryn Porter in\u00a0The Telegraph,\u00a0has compiled quite the list of failures as offshore wind projects get frozen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"clean green energy\"","block_context":{"text":"clean green energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-green-energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mfrack_realistic_photo_of_solar_energy_market_75b1638c-1ab3-402a-8600-63cc6da72bc5.webp?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mfrack_realistic_photo_of_solar_energy_market_75b1638c-1ab3-402a-8600-63cc6da72bc5.webp?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mfrack_realistic_photo_of_solar_energy_market_75b1638c-1ab3-402a-8600-63cc6da72bc5.webp?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mfrack_realistic_photo_of_solar_energy_market_75b1638c-1ab3-402a-8600-63cc6da72bc5.webp?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mfrack_realistic_photo_of_solar_energy_market_75b1638c-1ab3-402a-8600-63cc6da72bc5.webp?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":283262,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=283262","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":4},"title":"Kathryn Porter: The myth of affordable green energy is\u00a0over","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/14\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The dream of green cheap energy and green jobs is over. From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT By Paul Homewood The pervasive narrative about offshore wind in recent years has been that costs are falling and that wind power is cheap. But scratch below the surface and you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/00d3d62befb1e7ab0bcdab6da54c9063e6.jpg?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/00d3d62befb1e7ab0bcdab6da54c9063e6.jpg?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/00d3d62befb1e7ab0bcdab6da54c9063e6.jpg?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/00d3d62befb1e7ab0bcdab6da54c9063e6.jpg?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/00d3d62befb1e7ab0bcdab6da54c9063e6.jpg?fit=1200%2C597&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":434525,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=434525","url_meta":{"origin":437613,"position":5},"title":"Yet Another Reason Why Wind And Solar Electricity Generation Will Never Work To Run An Economy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/26\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"If you don\u2019t like fossil fuels \u2014 and who does? \u2014 our betters in academia and environmental NGOs have the perfect answer: we can just get our energy in the form of electricity from the wind and sun. The fuel is abundant and free for the taking. The New York\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"clean and green\"","block_context":{"text":"clean and green","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-and-green"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQOlQDvL4uu5p_oOka3qjeO-3CvfPJ-rChkJwg9qk-xmOvAqVtre5pA6ZpDGA_jhuPzLUjrGxZv-LxSwtvxsu1FXSzD0exy_TDjXMpWmHH7Q12OZ3nB4J3OrTpzimxN9.jpeg?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQOlQDvL4uu5p_oOka3qjeO-3CvfPJ-rChkJwg9qk-xmOvAqVtre5pA6ZpDGA_jhuPzLUjrGxZv-LxSwtvxsu1FXSzD0exy_TDjXMpWmHH7Q12OZ3nB4J3OrTpzimxN9.jpeg?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQOlQDvL4uu5p_oOka3qjeO-3CvfPJ-rChkJwg9qk-xmOvAqVtre5pA6ZpDGA_jhuPzLUjrGxZv-LxSwtvxsu1FXSzD0exy_TDjXMpWmHH7Q12OZ3nB4J3OrTpzimxN9.jpeg?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQOlQDvL4uu5p_oOka3qjeO-3CvfPJ-rChkJwg9qk-xmOvAqVtre5pA6ZpDGA_jhuPzLUjrGxZv-LxSwtvxsu1FXSzD0exy_TDjXMpWmHH7Q12OZ3nB4J3OrTpzimxN9.jpeg?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AQOlQDvL4uu5p_oOka3qjeO-3CvfPJ-rChkJwg9qk-xmOvAqVtre5pA6ZpDGA_jhuPzLUjrGxZv-LxSwtvxsu1FXSzD0exy_TDjXMpWmHH7Q12OZ3nB4J3OrTpzimxN9.jpeg?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/054851ef9-53ad-4662-ab2a-0a2ac7f2ed38_1100x1095.jpg?fit=1100%2C1095&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=437613"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437867,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437613\/revisions\/437867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/437865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=437613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=437613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=437613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}