Vote Leave FACTS: Energy Risks Increase by Staying In EU

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd MP’s false claims that Brexit Britain ‘faces an “electric shock” costing consumers at least £500m a year if it leaves the EU’ is a blatant scaremongering falsity that should be dismissed as a lie.

The fact is that it is the EU itself that pushes up energy prices.

Here are the FACTS about how voting to Leave the EU would be beneficial for British energy:

Energy prices would not rise if we Vote Leave. EU regulation forces up energy prices.

• The European Commission has admitted: ‘Energy costs [are] to rise in all scenarios’. There is no evidence that the ‘single market’ will reduce prices.

• End-user gas prices are now nearly twice as high in the UK than in the US.

• Between 2005 and 2011, ‘EU manufacturing saw the highest increase in energy costs‘ relative to the US, China and Japan.

• According to the former European Commission President Jose Barroso, between 2005 and 2012 the gas price for European industry increased by 35 per cent and the electricity price increased by 38 per cent. In the US, by contrast, gas prices fell by 66 per cent and electricity prices fell by 4 per cent.

• EU energy regulation will cost the UK economy between £86.6bn and £93.2bn.

The UK is not at risk from Putin’s Russia if we Vote Leave. The UK is one of the most energy self-sufficient countries in Europe.

• The UK does not depend on the EU (or Russia) for energy imports: ‘The main direct source of UK gas imports is direct from Norway. In 2012 55% of the UK’s gas imports came via the pipelines to Norway or connections with the Norwegian gas fields’.

• The UK is one of the EU countries that is least dependent on Russian gas imports.

• The UK is 49.5% sufficient in natural gas. Germany is 13.3% self-sufficient. France is 0.7% self-sufficient.

• Other countries such as Germany, are dangerously dependent on Russian Gas. The Commission acknowledges, ‘Europe’s dependence is set to increase’.

National Grid admits that the impact of leaving would be ‘minimal’ in the short-term. The UK could adapt.

• The National Grid presentation states: ‘The risks for gas as a result of Brexit are minimal in the nearer term’ and acknowledges that the ‘UK government could minimise risks of Brexit’. It notes that key aspects would be ‘cheap to mitigate’.

• The National Grid clearly states that: ‘We are not advocating to leave or remain in the EU’.

• The Government has admitted that ‘we don’t back legally-binding rules in this area’. Nonetheless, they will not be able to stop the proposals in the event of a vote to remain.

The National Grid report inaccurately claims that the UK has ‘influence on EU rules & policies to ensure they are advantageous to the UK.’

• The UK has been outvoted every time it has voted against an EU measure – 72 times in total. 40 of these defeats have taken place since David Cameron became Prime Minister. We have no influence at present.

• The UK’s ability to control whether or not to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point has been restrained by the need to await approval from the Commission. The Commission’s decision in favour of the scheme is currently the subject of legal challenge in the European Court by Austria.

The report claims that interconnectors are less likely if we Vote Leave. There is no evidence for this assertion.

• Germany has just agreed to establish a new interconnector with Norway – which is not in the EU.

National Grid spends hundreds of thousands lobbying the Commission.

• In 2014-2015, National Grid spent between €300,000 and €399,999 lobbying the Commission.

• Between 2007 and 2014 National Grid and group companies received over €3.2m in grants from the European Commission.

The real risk to UK energy security comes from EU membership. The Commission has just announced plans to force the UK to share gas with other member states. This could lead to gas rationing for business in the UK.

• In February 2016, the European Commission announced legislative proposals for mandatory sharing of gas between member states.

• The Commission envisages rationing of gas in the UK in the event of a shortage in other member states: ‘Application of the solidarity principle on the basis of technical and administrative arrangements agreed between Member States will be mandatory. Customers others than households, essential social services and district heating cannot continue to be supplied with gas in a given Member State – even if it is not in an emergency situation – as long as households, essential social services and district heating are not being supplied in another Member State in emergency to which the first country’s transmission network is connected’.

The Conservative Party predicted the Commission would take control over energy when it opposed the Lisbon Treaty eight years ago. It is now campaigning for the EU to retain powers over energy.

• During the passage of the Lisbon Treaty, the Conservatives tabled amendments, signed by William Hague and David Lidington, trying to stop the EU gaining control of energy policy.

• The then Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Alan Duncan, warned that the Treaty’ jeopardises our ability to act independently on energy matters… Our Government have essentially written a blank cheque to Brussels, which could in certain circumstances oblige the United Kingdom, for example, to assist in the building of other member states’ energy infrastructure.’ He also warned that the Treaty ‘mandates the Council to redistribute energy across the bloc during times of crisis. A gas dispute in Bavaria could ultimately lead to gas rationing in Birmingham. If there is an interruption in the supplies from the Gulf, the Commission can override our contracts. It can cut off our supplies from Milford Haven and send them to Ingolstadt, or divert our liquefied natural gas from the Isle of Grain to Novo Mesto’.

Leaving the EU would not lead to a reduction in investment.

• Notwithstanding the referendum, China recently announced £30 billion of investment into the UK, including between £5.4bn to £8.2bn in nuclear power. This will continue if we Vote Leave.

National Grid admits that the impact of leaving would be ‘minimal’ in the short-term. The UK could adapt.

• The National Grid presentation states: ‘The risks for gas as a result of Brexit are minimal in the nearer term’ and acknowledges that the ‘UK government could minimise risks of Brexit’. It notes that key aspects would be ‘cheap to mitigate’.

• The National Grid clearly states that: ‘We are not advocating to leave or remain in the EU’.