Octopus Boss Warns UK Is Too Exposed to Global Gas Prices

Octopus boss Greg Jackson has called on Andy Burnham to deliver “urgent reform” to the energy market to protect households from “volatile” gas prices.Jackson, founder of the UK’s biggest household electricity supplier, said: “The government’s decision to take VAT off electricity and remove some of the levies from bills has helped soften the blow this winter, but bills are still too high.“Britain remains far too exposed to volatile global gas prices. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have created an unprecedented double crisis, with gas prices more than doubling since the start of the year.“We urgently need to reform the market, make better use of our wind, and let people benefit from cheaper prices when green energy is abundant.”Jackson’s comments came after energy regulator watchdog said it will hike its cap on household bills by four per cent to £1,723 per year in October. Households will have to spend £264 more on energy bills within a decade, according to analysts at Boston Consulting.Burnham urged to allow North Sea drillingJackson, who founded clean energy provider Octopus in 2015, has previously called on the government to allow drilling in the North Sea. He claims that new drilling in the oilfields would bolster the UK’s energy security and push down prices, warning that the country is “staring down the barrel” of an energy crisis.Andy Burnham had been expected to decide whether to allow new North Sea drilling after consultations on the Rosebank and Jackdaw gasfields ended earlier this month. But the Prime Minister has reportedly opted to push his decision on the contentious topic back until the autumn over fears around the “optics” of approving new drilling during a summer of record heat, drought and wildfires.Ofgem’s price cap hike has put Burnham in line for heavy criticism from political opposition figures after he pledged to cut living costs for working households.Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins described the bills hike as “outrageous,” accusing the government of “broken promises”.“The winter fuel allowance was so important to so many of my constituents, because many of them used that payment in order to be able to fill their heating oil tanks.“But instead now we have rising bills under this government, and my worry is not only will households suffer, people at home suffer with this,” she told GB News.By Felix Armstrong via CityAMMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comTreasury Expands Iran Sanctions Without Targeting Major Chinese BanksEurope Dodges a Rhine Crisis for the Worst Possible ReasonOil Nears $100 as Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ Raises the Stakes