Trade association REA has rebuffed comments reportedly made by senior Conservative politician Robert Jenrick that the UK’s Contracts for Difference regime should be dismantled.
A recording has been posted online of Jenrick (pictured) speaking at an event this week in which he appears to advocate scrapping the renewables support mechanism to focus more firmly on fossil fuels to tackle high energy prices.
REA policy director and head of power Frank Gordon said in response: “Far from being a drag on consumer bills, the CfD scheme has been one of the only mechanisms protecting households from soaring fossil gas prices in recent years, while delivering urgently needed new investment into clean power.
“This is because the mechanism includes built in value for money safeguards, so generators pay back money which comes off all our energy bills if the wholesale price of electricity rises above a set amount.
“Over the last few years, where we’ve had an energy bill crisis, this has saved consumers billions in avoided costs. While bills went up, they would have risen higher if it were not for the CfD mechanism.
“In the longer term, moving to cheaper, cleaner, more secure homegrown renewables is the only way to end our dependence on volatile, polluting, imported fossil fuels. Renewables are better for our security, natural environment, and economy, and we should all be on board with that.”
The recording of Jenrick is said to be taken from an address to the Eurosceptic think-tank Bruges Group in London.
Responding to an audience question on whether the Conservative Party should look at ways to dismantle the CfD mechanism, he said “Yes, I think we should do”.
The MP for Newark and shadow justice secretary, who held senior ministerial positions in the previous Conservative government and ran for party leader last year against eventual winner Kemi Badenoch, added in the video: “I think net zero has been a complete disaster. It has been unilateral economic disarmament.
“We have got to have a sensible energy policy that means we can have industry and means we can compete.
“It cannot be that we have energy prices that are four times that of the United States and 30% higher than Germany. It just doesn’t work.
“What I would propose is, yes, look at those subsidies (for renewables) and get rid of some of them. I think we should obviously maximise the North Sea (oil and gas), as Kemi (Badenoch) has said recently.
“I think we should build new gas-fired power stations and be honest that gas is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Go for new nuclear. Do everything we can to get energy abundance. Cheap and reliable energy should be the foundation of our policy.”
Jenrick’s office and the Conservative Party have been contacted to verify the comments.