Tories unveil plans to keep energy flowing

Published on Friday 19 March 2010 19:55

CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron has unveiled plans for an energy regulator, which he said would ensure Britain's lights stay on and homes stay warm.

The Tories' long-awaited plans – billed as the biggest shake-up of energy policy in a generation – also propose increased investment in nuclear and renewable power.

The energy regulator would act as supervisor of an electricity "bank" to ensure supply always stayed ahead of demand, just as in financial markets, where a central bank specifies the reserves that other banks in the system should have, the Tories said.

The Conservatives' policy paper, Rebuilding Security, also proposes a floor price for carbon, so potential investors in power plants "know where they stand". A streamlined planning system would allow for the speedy facilitation of nuclear power stations and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Launching the paper at a National Grid terminal in Kent, Mr Cameron said: "British energy policy is out of date.

"It was designed almost 30 years ago for a world in which Britain had an excess of generating capacity; in which we enjoyed the benefits of growing North Sea oil and gas production; and in which neither local pollution nor climate change were the concerns they are today."

Conservatives believe that developers should be "incentivised" to build enough generating capacity to provide a reliable electricity supply at times of peak demand.

An energy regulator in the electricity market would be able to monitor capacity, and where it was inadequate, it would have the power to secure the capacity required to prevent shortages and blackouts.