from NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
h/t Doug Brodie
Ed Miliband’s deputy at the DESNZ, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has obviously been well trained in gaslighting. It’s a pity nobody bothered to teach her basic arithmetic!
Here’s her exact quote on LBC:
“The reason why our energy bills are much higher than in other countries is because those costs are being driven by global fossil fuel markets”
The data from her own Department proves she is lying.
The table below summarises DESNZ electricity and gas data, along with details of the new OFGEM Price Cap:
| Electricity Data 2025 | |
| TWh | |
| Total Electricity Supply | 323 |
| Gas Generation | 93 |
| Gas Used for Electricity | 192 |
| Natural Gas | £40.24/MWh |
| Cost of Gas Used | £7726m |
| Proportion of Electricity Used for Domestic | 35.00% |
| Cost of Gas Used for Domestic Electricity | £2704m |
| OFGEM Price Cap Q3 2026 | |
| 26.32p/kWh | |
| 54.83p/day | |
| Domestic Supply | 96 TWh |
| Annual Value of Domestic Price Cap for Electricity | £30667m |
Price cap values are calculated on the basis of total domestic electricity supply – 96 TWh – and 27 million homes for the standing charge. (In other words, not OFGEM’s “typical household bill”).
The first thing to note is that, contrary to popular myth, the cost of gas used in electricity generation is a small part of the total cost of electricity – £2704 million against a total price cap value of £30667 million, in terms of the domestic market.
Wholesale natural gas prices have risen by about a third in the last 12 months, which implies an extra cost to domestic consumers for electricity of about £700 million pa, equivalent to £26 per household. This is much lower than the overall increase in electricity bills. (Gas bills are, of course, another matter).
We can see this clearly by comparing the current price cap with that in Q3 2024, when Labour came to power.
| Comparison of Price Caps Q3 2024 v Q3 2026 | ||
| 2024 | 2026 | |
| 22.36p/kWh | 26.32p/kWh | |
| 60.12p/day | 54.83p/day | |
| Annual Value | £27378m | £30667m |
| Excl VAT | £26074m | £30667m |
| Add Back Policy Costs Tsfd to General Taxation | £3410m | |
| Net Cost | £26074m | 34077m |
| Cost of Gas Included (See Note) | £2704m | £1899m |
| Price Caps excl Cost of Gas | £23370m | £32178m |
| NOTE – Cost of Natural Gas in 2024 Was £28.27/MWh |
I have excluded VAT from the comparison, as electricity is now zero-VAT. I have also added back into current costings the policy costs, mainly ROC subsidies, which have now been transferred from energy bills to general taxation – according to OFGEM, these are £130pa per household. We still have to pay these one way or another.
Since 2024, electricity costs, adjusted as noted, have increased from £26,074 million to £34,077 million, an increase of 30.6% or £296 per household.
Yet the cost of gas used in generation has only risen by £805 million.
The bulk of the increase has therefore not been due to the rise in international gas prices, but other factors, all of which ultimately lie within the control of the government, one way or another.
These extra costs include renewable subsidies, higher network costs and higher balancing costs. They also include windfall profits for non-gas generators, who have benefitted from higher wholesale prices, on the back of gas prices.
If Miatta wants lower prices, she needs to get her own house in order, instead of blaming fossil fuels.
