Actually, there was something in the Budget ...

… 179 references to ‘energy’, and well over 5,000 words.

Having now read the full Budget doc, it turns out the seemingly footling stuff on energy prices that dominated the headlines was far from the end of the story.

It starts with the predictable “not our fault, guv” – in some statistical detail – and, yes, there are the sticking-plaster give-aways the headlines were all about, which seem to characterise Burnham’s style.  But there is bigger stuff, too: “This Budget represents a shift in the government’s approach to energy“.  Since there’s no space here to summarise the whole lot, it seems to mean two main things, the first of which had already started under the last Tory government: a gradual switch away from dumping all “policy costs” onto electricity and (to a lesser extent) gas bills, in favour of charging it to general taxation.  There’s to be more of that going on now.

Secondly, we have: 

… this Budget kickstarts the long-term action required to get energy costs down for good: 

• Controlling energy costs – no new policy costs will be put on bills until a comprehensive Cost Control Framework is in place at the spending review in 2027, which will set budgets for components of energy costs, including policy costs.
• Prioritising a cheaper energy mix and procuring new generation only where it lowers bills, benefits the system, and can be accommodated by the grid.

Now that could be really interesting.  Of course, “lowering bills” can get very theological when the playing-field is fundamentally tilted by not attributing the costs of intermittency etc to the causes of that intermittency – but it’s a very interesting line for them to be taking, and provides a stick with which to beat them when, e.g., the next batch of CfDs is to be awarded.  No more floating offshore windfarms at £216.49/MWh: in fact, only solar farms could creep in under that definition, properly interpreted.

On top of this, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the bloated DESNZ budget is being raided to fund all manner of things – small things this time round, of course, but when the Defence aspect of the putative 10-year Plan hoves into view, it is likely to hit DESNZ up for quite a few quid more, with correspondingly more bleating to come from the usual quarters.  Finally, there is a bit on the energy aspects of data centres, for anyone interested.

And the aim of all this?  “Cutting bills to reindustrialise the country.”  Sic!  A laudable aim indeed.

Unfortunately, just when you think Miliband’s fantasies have been consigned to where they belong, it’s all spoiled by the assertion that “The focus now is to unleash cheap electricity“.  WTF?  Where have you been hiding it all this while?!

ND