Energy Secretary: affordability her 'overriding objective'
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has told BBC Panorama that affordability is her "overriding objective", as household energy bills are predicted to rise sharply in January.
Bills are predicted to surge in January, in what would be the biggest rise for four years. UK households already pay one of the highest rates for electricity in Europe.
Ms Fahnbulleh was appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the cabinet post covering energy and climate policy, on 20 July 2026. She said that showing the move to cleaner energy is good for people's pockets is part of building and maintaining public consent for it.
She said Labour's push for greener electricity is one of the government's routes to delivering affordability. The drive to clean power, she said, is about reducing dependence on global fossil fuel markets, and homegrown renewables and nuclear will bring bills down in the long term.
She conceded that the consensus on climate action is currently "under pressure", amid discontent over rising energy prices.
On 4 November, the government published a press release titled "Energy reforms to cut bills and put power back in people's hands". It said the proposed Energy Independence Bill will cut bills for households. The bill is a plan and has not yet become law.
On 28 October, the government announced that standing charges, the fixed daily fees that appear on gas bills whatever a household uses, will be removed. The government said this will affect around 23 million homes.
Separately, the department's annual report, published in July, said work to improve energy efficiency reduced energy bills by an average of £150 from April 2026. BusinessGreen reported that Ms Fahnbulleh has signalled that electrifying the economy and lowering bills are now the government's guiding energy policy priorities.
