Fossil fuels and increases in the cost of living

The following Library briefings, select committee reports and government webpages provide information relevant to fossil fuels and increases in the cost of living, grouped under the following headings:

• Background on fossil fuels
• Rising energy prices and their impact on consumers
• Recent policies targeting the increase in energy prices
• Recent policies targeting energy consumers
• Further support for energy customers
• Energy security
• Select committee reports

Background on fossil fuels

• UK oil and gas industry (debate pack, February 2020)
• Local consent for fracking (research briefing, November 2022)
• Shale gas and fracking (research briefing, March 2020)
• Imports of fossil fuels from Russia (research briefing, December 2022)
• Alternatives to Russian oil: Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and Venezuela?(research briefing, April 2022)
• The future of coal in the UK (debate pack, December 2020)
• The Energy Bill 2022-23 includes measures to support the development of carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen, and reforms to the regulation of oil and gas. For more information see the House of Lords Library (July 2022) and House of Commons Library (December 2022) research briefings.

Rising energy prices and their impact on consumers

• Rising cost of living in the UK (research briefing, December 2022)
• Research on the increasing cost of living and inflation (research briefing, December 2022). This webpage groups Library publications on the rising cost of living in the UK.
• Domestic energy prices(research briefing, January 2023)
• Oil prices(research briefing, November 2022)
• Petrol and diesel prices(research briefing, October 2022)
• Fuel Poverty in the UK (research briefing, May 2022)

Recent policies targeting the increase in energy prices

• Taxation of North Sea oil and gas(research briefing, November 2022): This includes information on the Energy Profits Levy.
• Taxation of road fuels (research briefing, June 2022): This includes information on the temporary cut in the rate of fuel duty.
• Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) was a Government consultation on reforming the electricity market, held from July to October 2022. It included proposals to decouple of the price of electricity from the price of gas. The Government has not yet published its response to the consultation.
• Although not targeting fossil fuels, the Electricity Generator Levy is a new tax on exceptional generation receipts from low-carbon electricity generation.

Recent policies targeting energy consumers

• Constituency casework: Government support for energy bills (research briefing, November 2022): This includes information on the Energy Bills Support Scheme, the Energy Price Guarantee, the Energy Bills Relief Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payments. The Energy Prices Act 2022 created powers to set up, or deliver aspects of, each of these schemes. For more information see the Library research briefing on the Energy Prices Bill 2022-23 (October 2022).
• Energy intensive industries: The Government announced increased support for Energy Intensive Industriesin April 2022, with further proposals in August. The debate pack on Energy intensive industries (November 2021) has background information.
• Rising Household Energy Costs and Consumer Protection (House of Lords Library research briefing, January 2022). In the Autumn Statement [PDF] the Government announced it would develop a “new approach to consumer protection in energy markets”, to apply from April 2024 onwards.

Further support for energy consumers

• The Government’s “It all adds up” energy saving campaign has advice on “simple, low or no-cost actions” that households can take to cut their energy use and save money this winter. The webpage Help with your energy bills summarises Government support to help households with rising energy prices.
• Energy domestic consumer advice for Autumn/Winter 2022: Joint briefing by BEIS, Citizens’ Advice, Energy UK and Ofgem

• Constituency casework: help with energy bills for businesses, voluntary sector and public sector organisations (research briefing, December 2022)
• Help with energy bills(research briefing, March 2019)
• Heat networks and energy prices(research briefing, April 2022)
• Help with energy efficiency, heating and renewable energy in homes(research briefing, July 2022)

Energy security

• Energy Security(POSTnote, August 2022)
• British Energy Security Strategy(debate pack, July 2022)
• Where will Britain’s future energy supply come from?(Insight, May 2022)
• EU energy security: Implications for the UK(research briefing, May 2022)

Select committee reports and government responses

• Environmental Audit Committee, Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23, January 2023
• Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, Energy pricing and the future of the energy market, Third Report of Session 2022–23, July 2022
• BEIS Committee, Energy pricing and the future of the energy market: Government response, Second Special Report of Session 2022–23, October 2022
• House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, Investing in energy: price, security, and the transition to net zero [PDF], First Report of Session 2022-23, July 2022. The Government response [PDF] was published in October 2022.