Energy Independence Bill ends new North Sea licences and scraps standing charges
The government introduced its Energy Independence Bill on Wednesday, removing the North Sea Transition Authority’s power to grant new oil and gas licences and making Labour’s manifesto moratorium permanent, while letting existing fields add output from adjoining areas under transitional energy certificates. Ministers will amend the bill to scrap standing charges on household gas bills, which they say gives about 23 million households more control and saves around 60% of gas account holders an average of £45 a year.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, said the bill would help “build a clean energy future which people feel in their pockets, households and communities”; Andy Burnham said the changes would “bring bills down for good”. The government says the transitional certificates could produce about 60 million barrels and support hundreds of jobs, and it is creating a £2bn energy wealth fund from oil and gas tax receipts, alongside a North Sea Jobs Service, to invest in low-carbon industries. The Conservatives called the bill “dangerous” and said ministers were “totally oblivious to the economic and energy threats this country faces”; the SNP’s Graham Leadbitter said it was “designed to exploit Scotland’s energy”. Rosebank, approved in 2022 and still awaiting a ministerial decision, and Jackdaw, approved two weeks ago, are unaffected; because repeal would need a Commons majority, the bill makes any future reopening of the North Sea harder. The package builds on the Budget’s £100 winter energy payment for up to 20 million households in England and £50 off the annual price cap.