EDF and Octopus Energy launch Electrify Britain campaign
EDF and Octopus Energy have joined forces to launch Electrify Britain – a campaign organisation dedicated to significantly reducing energy bills, reducing climate emissions and driving economic growth through replacing gas, diesel and petrol with widespread electrification.
Electrifying Britain’s home heating, transport and local communities presents a golden opportunity to cut energy bills. Electrified homes that use heat pumps can save hundreds of pounds compared to gas boilers and EVs are already £1,000 cheaper to run annually compared to petrol vehicles.
Electrification is crucial to achieving net zero emissions. Currently, transport accounts for 23% of UK emissions, and domestic heating contributes 15%.
Dependence on gas has cost the UK £75-£80bn* over the past two and a half years. Transitioning to green electricity reduces Britain’s vulnerability to fossil fuel price spikes and inflation.
Electrify Britain wants the UK to unlock growth and investment by removing policy bottlenecks and seize the opportunities of being at the forefront of the clean energy transition: attracting investment, reducing our carbon emissions, driving growth and creating jobs locally.
Electrify Britain’s Key Priorities:
- Make Electricity Pricing Fair:
Reduce the burden of policy costs from domestic electricity bills. Currently policy costs make up around 17% electricity bills compared to 6% on gas bills.
Create the right market signals for investment in electrification through reallocation of policy cost – this could include general taxation, moving some onto gas and ensuring targeted support for vulnerable customers unable to electrify.
- Electrify Home Heat:
Promoting heat pumps and other clean heating technologies, which are more efficient and cost-effective than traditional gas boilers.
End the installation of gas boilers immediately in new home builds and rapidly increase the roll-out of cheaper heat pumps to replace gas boilers.
- Electrify Transport:
Supporting the expansion of EV infrastructure and providing innovative tariffs to make EV ownership more accessible and affordable.
- Electrify Communities:
Implementing community energy projects to foster energy independence and resilience, including increasing the uptake of solar rooftop installations.
Encouraging local generation and consumption of low carbon energy to transform communities.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy said:
“Our businesses deal with millions of customers, and we know that when households go electric, they never look back because it’s cheaper and better.
“There’s been so much focus on electrifying generation, but not enough on electrifying end use, where customers can make significant savings. Electric cars on a smart tariff cost 7 times less per mile than a petrol car. People with heat pumps usually pay less than those with gas boilers and they rate their heat pump higher. It’s time for us to seize the benefits of electrification for British customers.”
Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK, added:
“We are launching a joint campaign because there is no time to wait. Britain’s energy market is still fragile to external shocks and at the same time, we are seeing the impacts of climate change. We need more electricity but less CO2, we need to Electrify Britain.
“The first priority is to make electricity pricing fair by rebalancing policy costs, and the second is to ensure new homes are green and electric from day one. The future is electric, and we need to act now.”
* Calculations undertaken by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
