Blimey, Ed Miliband's just pulled off the mother of all green vanity projects – and we're all going to pay through the nose for it!
Fresh from yesterday's "record-breaking" offshore wind auction, the Energy Secretary is crowing about securing 8.4GW of new capacity – enough to "power 12 million homes" – at strike prices around £89-£91/MWh (in 2024/2025 prices, blended average ~£90.91/MWh). These Contracts for Difference (CfD) are locked in for a whopping 20 years (up from 15), running right through to around 2045. Miliband calls it an "historic win" and "taking back control" from volatile gas markets.
Historic win? More like historic stitch-up for the British punter!
Let's get real with the numbers, because the spin doesn't survive contact with reality:
- £91/MWh guaranteed to developers (in recent 2025 prices) – that's what taxpayers and bill-payers subsidise when market prices dip below.
- Market price for gas-fired power? Currently hovering around £55-£80/MWh (wholesale electricity often set by gas at ~£70-£80/MWh day-ahead in early 2026, with futures expecting further drops).
- Gas generation costs (including new plants) touted by Miliband as £147/MWh? That's including a fat carbon price and build costs – but existing gas plants are churning out power far cheaper right now, and markets expect prices to fall further as global supplies stabilise.
It's just not credible to claim gas is what's making our power expensive. Not credible at all. Renewables were meant to crash costs – instead, Miliband's handing out premium subsidies when wholesale is trading cheaper. When the market price falls below £91 (which it already does much of the time), we top up the difference via our bills. When it's above? Developers pay back – but good luck banking on sustained highs in a world of abundant LNG and falling gas futures.
The fallout? Brace yourselves:
- Bills will be higher – these locked-in top-ups add billions over decades, with critics warning families face "decades of higher electricity prices". Labour promised £300 cuts; instead, bills are already £200 up since they took power, and this cements uncompetitive prices.
- Energy security threatened – we're betting the farm on intermittent wind (no wind = no power) while sidelining reliable gas. In an unstable world (Middle East flare-ups, anyone?), we're more exposed, not less.
- Jobs lost – higher energy costs hammer UK industry, manufacturing flees to cheaper shores, and the "thousands of jobs" Miliband boasts? Offset by private-sector carnage from sky-high power prices.
- Stuck with useless contracts for decades – 20-year lock-ins mean we're tied to these inflated rates until the 2040s, even if tech improves, costs plummet, or better options emerge. Talk about fiscal handcuffs!
This isn't green genius; it's ideological lunacy. Miliband's virtue-signalling "clean power by 2030" obsession is costing us dear, subsidising developers at premium rates while gas – the current marginal price-setter – proves far cheaper. Renewables dampen wholesale prices? Great in theory, but when you're guaranteeing £91/MWh subsidies on top, the net benefit to consumers evaporates.
Miliband promised cheaper, homegrown power. What we've got is a generational bill hike, fragile security, job losses, and contracts that make the poll tax look like a bargain.
Resign, Ed – before you bankrupt the lot of us chasing net-zero nirvana.
Stay angry, stay vigilant, and for God's sake insulate and shop around – because this lot won't save you a penny.
Amazon Suggested Reads – Shield Yourself from the Green Rip-Off
- “The Great Net Zero Swindle” – how climate dogma costs Britain billions
- “Energy Poverty: Surviving Labour's Green Taxes” – practical ways to cut bills
- “Fossil Fuels vs Fantasy” – why reliable energy still wins
Ken FrostProfessional Cynic, Chartered Accountant and relentless Loanbuster
www.kenfrost.net – exposing the energy emperors since 2005
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