Centrica boss warns: Britain’s switch to green energy “will not be cheap”

Centrica boss warns Britain’s switch to green energy “won’t be cheap”.

Chris O’Shea said energy bills are high due to too much volatility in the energy market – and this will only get worse if we rely solely on wind or solar power.

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Mr O’Shea admitted that he had been concerned about energy security for two years and that “if we wait until something goes wrong, it may be too late”.

The FTSE 100 giant reopened its Rough gas storage facility in the North Sea, 18 miles off the Humber Peninsula, at the height of the crisis two years ago.

It lies above a 30 km long sandstone cliff. At a depth of three kilometers, Centrica absorbs thousands of cubic meters of gas.

Rough has been ramped up to store enough gas for three million homes this winter. The plant currently supplies half of the UK’s total energy reserves, making it a “critical part of the UK’s energy security”, according to O’Shea.

Analyst firm FTI found that £5.6 billion (£200 per household) could have been saved if Rough had remained open during the worst of the energy crisis.

Mr O’Shea added: “We want energy to be as cheap as possible. The energy transition will not be cheap. It is in our interest that customers can afford our product.”

Labour’s new state-owned energy company, Great British Energy, has focused on lifting bans on onshore wind farms.

Mr O’Shea warned: “You can’t guarantee wind energy, but you can store hydrogen. You can convert electricity from wind energy into hydrogen and store it.”

Centrica wants to convert Rough from natural gas to hydrogen storage. The company has requested the same contracts as the energy links between France and the UK.

Mr O’Shea claimed that offering hydrogen storage would create a viable market.

He said Great British Energy could be a “co-investor” with Centrica in Rough, but that the switch to hydrogen would not require government money.

He added: “We will invest £2 billion, create several thousand jobs in construction and improve Britain’s energy security.”

“And we’re going to reduce the bills. For me, the question is, ‘What’s not to like?’ With wind farms, there’s no guarantee that it will reduce the bills.”

Call for help with bills

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The government must introduce a social energy tariff to help those who cannot afford their bills, says O’Shea.

Regulator OFGEM’s new price cap will add between £150 and £1,700 a year to the average energy bill in October, just as the weather gets colder.

The increase comes shortly after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves cut winter heating oil subsidies for around ten million pensioners.

O’Shea said the best way to help was to abolish standing charges, which cost customers even when they don’t use electricity, and introduce social tariffs.

Centrica’s CEO added: “We believe there should be a fairer energy system, but we are not responsible for policy.”

JD’s a kit shocked at sale

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The European Championships gave JD Sports a boost, but they were surprised to find that England’s away shirts sold just as well as their home shirts.

Previously, Nike had changed the colors of the St. George’s Cross on the collar of the jersey, attracting criticism from personalities such as Sir Keir Starmer.

JD Sports CEO Regis Schultz described away kit sales yesterday as “unusual”, adding that England’s kits were selling better than those of other teams.

But despite global growth, JD’s sales in the UK fell by three percent in the first half of the year.

Schultz attributed the decline to bad weather and said the UK was a “more mature” market for JD as it expands globally. The company now has 4,506 stores worldwide.

Shares rose 10 percent yesterday, encouraged by JD’s 2.4 percent second-quarter revenue growth.