The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has called for a reset of the UK’s Clean Power 2030 plan to prioritise what it claims is affordability and system performance.
The think-tank’s report said the current objective of rapid electricity decarbonisation restricts the definition of success by overlooking whether power is cheap, secure and capable of supporting large-scale electrification.
The institute added that policy has drifted towards measuring progress by contracted capacity rather than the availability of abundant, affordable electricity that can sustain growth and maintain public consent for climate action.
The report stated that Clean Power 2030 treats cost as a downstream issue even though expensive energy threatens electrification, industry competitiveness and political durability.
It argued that the UK’s energy framework has not adapted to economic, technological and geopolitical changes and is no longer fit for purpose.
The institute said the reset should replace Clean Power 2030 with Cheaper Power 2030 as the organising mission, centred on market reform, planning reform and strategic grid development to ensure supported renewable capacity lowers bills.
The report added that wider policy should follow by creating an investible North Sea basin for energy security and by placing innovation at the heart of long-term energy strategy.