Liz Truss is expected to lift the ban on fracking as she sets out measures to shield households and businesses from soaring energy bills in an announcement today. In her first major policy intervention as Prime Minister, she is expected to tell MPs on Thursday that domestic energy bills will be frozen at around £2,500 as part of a package to ease the cost-of-living crunch which will cost an estimated £150 billion.
The guarantee on energy costs, which is aimed at saving families and businesses from financial ruin if bills continue to rise as predicted, will be funded by increased borrowing after Ms Truss rejected calls for a windfall tax on oil and gas producers. Downing Street has indicated Ms Truss will end the moratorium on fracking – the process of extracting shale gas by fracturing rocks with high-pressure water.
Any moves to lift the ban would be heavily criticised by opponents who have long warned that fracking can cause earthquakes, water contamination, noise and traffic pollution, while backing extraction of a fossil fuel does not sit well with the Government’s net zero objectives. The Prime Minister is also expected to confirm pledges made during her Tory leadership campaign to scrap green levies on energy bills and back the exploitation of North Sea gas resources.
