𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The UK faces an “energy crisis” and blackouts by 2035 without an urgent drive to build more power stations. Electricity demand is soaring because of the switch to electric vehicles and heat pumps replacing gas boilers, according to a study backed by Simon Case, the former head of the civil service. But many existing nuclear and gas power stations are due to be decommissioned, while crippling red tape is preventing the construction of new plants.

It means Britain risks energy shortages that will drive up industry costs and raise household electricity bills, a report published today finds. And a blackout was “narrowly avoided” in January, when low winds and dark skies hit solar and wind-farm generation. The Government last night insisted there was no danger of blackouts. But Lord Case, who was Cabinet Secretary from 2020 to 2024, said: “The UK is barrelling toward an energy crisis – and an urgent change in policy is needed to stop costs continuing to rise, and to secure our energy security as a nation. To do otherwise is to risk energy shortages.”

He is to chair a new Nuclear Enterprise Commission, bringing together global energy experts. Reflecting the vital role energy plays in national security, they include former United States Army lieutenant general Herbert McMaster, who served as National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump, and Lord Robertson, the former NATO Secretary General and ex-Secretary of State for Defence.

The former Whitehall mandarin endorsed a new report by think tank Policy Exchange which urged the Government to use acts of Parliament to ensure new nuclear power stations are built swiftly, automatically granting planning permission and ending delays caused by judicial reviews launched by opponents.

Electricity demand is set to double by 2035 and double again by 2050 according to Government figures, driven partly by energy-intensive AI data centres as well as the switch to “green” technology, which uses electricity instead of fossil fuels.

The UK’s energy network can generate 72 gigawatts (GW), and typically imports around 10 GW at peak periods. But demand is forecast to rise to around 74 GW by 2030, up to 106 GW by 2035, and potentially up to 191 GW by 2050.

Growing reliance on solar and wind power already leaves the nation vulnerable during periods of low wind and little sunlight – known as a Dunkelflaute period – and the National Grid had to ask power plant owners to provide extra electricity on January 8 this year.

The Policy Exchange report warned: “A blackout was narrowly avoided on that occasion, but the incident might be thought to serve as a warning of the vulnerabilities already faced by the system – never mind future challenges as the existing gas and nuclear fleets are wound down and electricity demand increases in the years to come.”

It added: “If maximum nonrenewable capacity is currently 45 GW, and peak demand is projected by the government to increase to 74 GW by 2030 (never mind the projections for 2035), a zero-wind period in winter might well mean that even for just a short period, domestic capacity plus imports would be insufficient to meet that demand.”

But attempts to build new facilities have been bogged down in red tape, which also leads costs to soar. For example, developers behind the Sizewell C nuclear power station under construction in Suffolk had to had to produce 44,260 pages of documentation setting out the expected impact on the environment and mitigation measures. This contributed to the project’s £38bn cost while the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset is to cost £46bn.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has set out plans to build new small modular nuclear reactors across the UK. The report calls on the government to use so-called Hybrid Bills, allowing Parliament to play a role similar to a court, to speed up the process of creating new power stations. It also called on Parliament to prevent judicial reviews of decisions.

Lord Case said: “The need to put nuclear enterprise at the heart of government reform is why I will be chairing Policy Exchange’s new Nuclear Enterprise Commission, where international experts will come together to work out the best way forward.”

A Department for Energy Security & Net Zero spokesperson said: “These claims completely ignore that we are driving forward a golden age of nuclear power by backing Sizewell C in Suffolk and hosting Britain’s first Small Modular Reactor nuclear power station in Wylfa in Anglesey.

“In its 75-year history, there has never been a complete grid shutdown, and through our clean power mission, we will make the country even more energy secure – protecting households against volatile fossil fuel markets that we can’t control.”