She went on to say: ‘Bills are not high because of net zero. They are high because Britain has left itself exposed. Exposed to global fossil fuel markets we cannot control. Exposed to price shocks. Exposed to conflicts happening thousands of miles away. This is not energy security. So we must change it.’

For the significant rises in electricity prices over the last 10 years – 150% for households and nearly 175% for business rates – a new report from The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) blames primarily the Russian-Ukraine war, which raised international gas prices by 63% by early 2026 from five years earlier. But it also cites carbon taxes on fossil-fired electricity generation plus support for low-carbon generators and home improvements. Passed on to consumers, they accounted for 23% of bills in 2025, but since have fallen to 17% in July–October 2026.

Fahnbulleh continued: ‘The answer to high bills and climate change is ultimately the same. More clean, home-grown energy. More homes, workplaces and transport upgrades to make the most of clean power.’

According to the IFS, the government predicts that its investments in decarbonisation will end up having had only a modest increase on bills to 2050 compared to less ambitious decarbonisation plans. In its generally pessimistic report, the think tank concludes that future investment is ‘highly uncertain’ and depends on future fossil fuel prices, interest rates and technological development.

In the nearer term, both renewables investments and the grid investments required to support them will peak in the 2030s before reducing in the 2040s, according to the IFS. For example, grid investments will rise from £7bn in 2024–2025 to £19bn in 2030–2031.

Apart from moderating its decarbonisation stance, the IFS’s big recommendation for the government was to better match consumer prices and wholesale electricity prices (which currently aren’t very well aligned). Even though the government has ruled out zonal pricing, which would allow the cost of electricity to vary depending on the cost of generation in different parts of the UK, the think tank recommends other means of aligning costs of supply and demand. These include making energy tariffs time-varied by default, varying the size of government subsidies for green tech by area to incentivise investment where generation costs are low, and tweaking generation subsidies depending on need.  

A different kind of energy devolution was announced this week: the £15bn Warm Homes Plan announced in January will go to local government. Fahnbulleh said: ‘Instead of decisions being made in Whitehall, we will give mayors, local government and communities the power to invest billions of pounds in their place. To upgrade millions of homes. To renew estates. To train up young people for skilled jobs. To boost local businesses and their supply chain.’

Local authority climate network UK 100 said: ‘This is exactly what we hoped to hear from the Secretary of State. It’s the promise local leaders have been asking for. Across our network, schemes to upgrade residents’ homes are closing to new applicants because demand has outstripped the money available.’

In other news, home energy management company Tado found that on average last winter 28% of a home’s heating went into the living room, compared to bedrooms at 25.9%, kitchens 18.2%, dining rooms 15.4% and bathrooms 15.2%. This is according to anonymised data of the share of heating demand from its network of some 495,000 homes from 1 November 2025 to 31 January 2026.