Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Last week, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, restructured several government departments and appointed new ministers to lead them.

Part of the changes made included the split of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), creating two new departments — the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

As part of the shake up, former Secretary of State for BEIS, Grant Shapps, was appointed as the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Here, Nigel Newman, director of strategy and growth at Raven commented on the changes.

“In a time when the climate and energy crisis is deepening, it’s reassuring to see that the government has recognised the need for a dedicated team focused on energy security and net zero.  If we’re to achieve net zero by 2050, we need to accelerate our investment and our pace of change and think well beyond EPC C.

“While domestic customers are protected by the energy price guarantee, businesses aren’t, which means that many are finding themselves crippled by huge bills and an uncertain future. In short, we need to address not only the residential sector, but commercial properties too, much of which needs re-thinking to be fit for purpose in the long run.

“Hopefully, with the appointment of Grant Shapps, we will see further investment as we secure our long-term energy supply, bring down bills, and increase our focus on renewable energy on our journey to net zero.”