“EUA agree with Ms Rudd that affordability and a secure supply of energy are critical to Britain’s thriving economy and there is a very real need to establish a ‘sensible, long-term national energy policy’. 

We want to see renewables play a role in heat and power generation but gas will remain the number one choice for home heating for many people so Ms Rudd was right to recognise its role in the wider energy mix. So called green gases can be injected into the exiting grid and as gas is cleaner than coal or oil, it can help in the fight to cut carbon emissions.

Delivering on promises to insulate a million more homes will assist in this fight but insulation alone will not deliver the necessary cuts. There are 12 million inefficient boilers in UK homes and almost 70% do not have minimum heating controls – there is no point being able to retain heat if we can’t control it.

Controlling energy usage will be helped by the smart meter roll out so it is good to know that the Conservative Government are still supporting this measure.

Finally we would ask the Government to ‘put its money where its mouth is’ and move forward with the development of the shale industry. It is cheaper and greener to exploit our own resources than to rely on imports from often unstable regions of the World. Shale exploitation will also boost jobs and the tax generated can be invested in improving the energy efficiency of the UK housing stock.”