The price of electricity is less entertaining than a bout of leadership plotting but Labour MPs, if they lifted their gaze, could note that the boss of one of our largest energy companies made a significant prediction this week. British electricity prices in 2030 would be higher than they were in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of British Gas-owning Centrica. If he’s right, the implications may matter more for those MPs’ re-election prospects than if or when the prime minister goes.
O’Shea was not making a point about net zero. He was merely saying all options for the necessary upgrade of the country’s energy infrastructure were expensive. “We’ve underinvested in the system for many years, and whether it’s the cost of building a new gas-fired power station or a new windfarm, the costs have gone up,” he said.
