With corporate energy, we’re stuck in the dark ages – let’s switch to public ownership
It is clear that Britain has an energy problem. The privatisation and ‘liberalisation’ of the energy market has left us with six dominant suppliers from which over 90% of us buy our energy. 1 in 10 households in the UK are in fuel poverty. Confidence in the ability of the biggest energy companies to act in the public interest has almost completely eroded, and the head of Ofgem has identified a ‘deep mistrust in anything the energy companies do or say’. The Big Six have faced continued criticism over widening profit margins and a perception that they abuse their dominant market position. Average pre-tax profits are expected to reach £114 per household over the next year, despite plummeting oil and gas prices. And we are categorically failing to make the necessary moves towards green sources of energy; just 5.2% of our overall energy consumption is from renewable sources, one of the lowest in the EU.
Anyone can see that the system is broken. But to how fix it? What would a new energy paradigm look like? This was the topic of an inspiring workshop event, ‘Imagining Energy Democracy’, organised and chaired by Global Justice Now, and attended by a wealth of campaigners and academics. We allowed our minds to wander, to dream, to imagine an energy future not dominated by fossil fuels and large private companies, but a future in which ‘energy democracy’ had won out against corporate profit and climate destruction.
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