I Worked For Bp For 30 Years The Energy Sector Has Become Incompetent And Greedy Nick Butler

Freezing is necessary but far from sufficient. We still rely on natural gas for about 40% of our daily energy consumption. The promised energy transition has just begun. The price of natural gas we import – about half of our total consumption – will continue to be determined on the world market and is likely to continue to rise, especially if Europe’s hot summer is followed by a cold winter. Further action is needed, from government and the energy industry. First, a support program must be put in place to protect the poorest people and those struggling on tight budgets. The welfare system can be used to protect those on benefits, but some further action, perhaps through discounts on the lowest council tax brackets, may be the best way to help those for whom current energy prices are causing hardship. Business rates can also vary, such as during Covid, to help those businesses most at risk. Energy retailers should be forced to demonstrate that they support those in need, notably by ending the disastrous surcharges imposed on those using pre-paid meters. Second, there needs to be a forensic examination of the accounts of companies across the energy sector. In any case, they must determine their costs and profit margins if they are to regain public trust. There is, for example, no reason why nuclear or renewable electricity producers in the UK should benefit from a price cap dominated by the wholesale price of natural gas. A close look at the actual financials of each company is likely to show that freezing the price cap will be cheaper than currently imagined and will reveal exactly who should be targeted for any taxation of unwarranted profits. Those who resist risk losing their license to operate. The cycle of privatization that began in the 1980s may be coming to an end. I worked for BP for nearly 30 years and learned the hard way during the tanker driver dispute in 2000 that continuity of energy supply is rightly considered a government responsibility. As with the financial sector in 2008, if the private energy sector fails to meet the needs of the society it serves, its functions must and will be taken over by government. Companies now taking part must demonstrate that they understand that they must use their skills and resources in the public interest. The third challenge beyond the freeze is securing adequate natural gas supplies. This is a matter of close cooperation between the government and the energy sector. Other European countries, led by Germany, are actively looking for resources on the world market to replace supplies that no longer come from Russia. The EU has created a single-buyer mechanism and individual countries are pursuing new deals with producers around the world, from Qatar and Algeria to the US. Reserve resources are scarce because investment levels have been low and new supplies typically take three to five years to come on stream. The result is that natural gas shortages across the EU are very likely this winter. Germany and others are preparing for this risk with serious plans to curb consumption. The UK, which apparently considers itself immune to Europe’s problems, has done nothing and is not even matching the current voluntary measures being adopted across the EU to reduce consumption. Ministers seem not to realize that if countries such as France and Norway cut supplies to the UK this winter to meet their own needs, the shortages could be real and significant. The urgent need is to secure a stockpile of additional supplies and develop the neglected natural gas storage facilities that other countries take for granted. Securing and maintaining adequate supplies requires a public-private partnership with a common, primary goal of maintaining energy security. These steps would help mitigate the risks of the current situation. However, they are still insufficient to create real long-term energy security. Sustainable investment is needed in all areas of energy activity – to improve the efficiency of the ways we use energy, to provide the necessary infrastructure for a serious low-carbon transition and to regulate a complex hybrid sector combining public policy and private capital . Loose, unsubstantiated and underfunded commitments to increasingly ambitious headline targets accomplish nothing. A regulator that licenses undercapitalized suppliers in order to promote “competition”, then watches them fail once prices start to rise is incompetent. The fatalism in the face of the inevitable volatility of a global market in which supplies are concentrated and vulnerable to weaponization is pathetic. The lesson of past experience is that systemic problems make the line between public and private largely irrelevant. Solutions require a combined effort by realistic, pragmatic governments and companies that are conscious of their social responsibilities. As we head into a new winter of discontent, the only hope is that the current crisis will drive us back to the substance and details of serious energy policy.

Nick Butler is visiting professor at King’s College London and former group vice-president of strategy and policy development at BP and adviser to Gordon Brown

title: “I Worked For Bp For 30 Years The Energy Sector Has Become Incompetent And Greedy Nick Butler Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “Mary Zimmerman”

Freezing is necessary but far from sufficient. We still rely on natural gas for about 40% of our daily energy consumption. The promised energy transition has just begun. The price of natural gas we import – about half of our total consumption – will continue to be determined on the world market and is likely to continue to rise, especially if Europe’s hot summer is followed by a cold winter. Further action is needed, from government and the energy industry. First, a support program must be put in place to protect the poorest people and those struggling on tight budgets. The welfare system can be used to protect those on benefits, but some further action, perhaps through discounts on the lowest council tax brackets, may be the best way to help those for whom current energy prices are causing hardship. Business rates can also vary, such as during Covid, to help those businesses most at risk. Energy retailers should be forced to demonstrate that they support those in need, notably by ending the disastrous surcharges imposed on those using pre-paid meters. Second, there needs to be a forensic examination of the accounts of companies across the energy sector. In any case, they must determine their costs and profit margins if they are to regain public trust. There is, for example, no reason why nuclear or renewable electricity producers in the UK should benefit from a price cap dominated by the wholesale price of natural gas. A close look at the actual financials of each company is likely to show that freezing the price cap will be cheaper than currently imagined and will reveal exactly who should be targeted for any taxation of unwarranted profits. Those who resist risk losing their license to operate. The cycle of privatization that began in the 1980s may be coming to an end. I worked for BP for nearly 30 years and learned the hard way during the tanker driver dispute in 2000 that continuity of energy supply is rightly considered a government responsibility. As with the financial sector in 2008, if the private energy sector fails to meet the needs of the society it serves, its functions must and will be taken over by government. Companies now taking part must demonstrate that they understand that they must use their skills and resources in the public interest. The third challenge beyond the freeze is securing adequate natural gas supplies. This is a matter of close cooperation between the government and the energy sector. Other European countries, led by Germany, are actively looking for resources on the world market to replace supplies that no longer come from Russia. The EU has created a single-buyer mechanism and individual countries are pursuing new deals with producers around the world, from Qatar and Algeria to the US. Reserve resources are scarce because investment levels have been low and new supplies typically take three to five years to come on stream. The result is that natural gas shortages across the EU are very likely this winter. Germany and others are preparing for this risk with serious plans to curb consumption. The UK, which apparently considers itself immune to Europe’s problems, has done nothing and is not even matching the current voluntary measures being adopted across the EU to reduce consumption. Ministers seem not to realize that if countries such as France and Norway cut supplies to the UK this winter to meet their own needs, the shortages could be real and significant. The urgent need is to secure a stockpile of additional supplies and develop the neglected natural gas storage facilities that other countries take for granted. Securing and maintaining adequate supplies requires a public-private partnership with a common, primary goal of maintaining energy security. These steps would help mitigate the risks of the current situation. However, they are still insufficient to create real long-term energy security. Sustainable investment is needed in all areas of energy activity – to improve the efficiency of the ways we use energy, to provide the necessary infrastructure for a serious low-carbon transition and to regulate a complex hybrid sector combining public policy and private capital . Loose, unsubstantiated and underfunded commitments to increasingly ambitious headline targets accomplish nothing. A regulator that licenses undercapitalized suppliers in order to promote “competition”, then watches them fail once prices start to rise is incompetent. The fatalism in the face of the inevitable volatility of a global market in which supplies are concentrated and vulnerable to weaponization is pathetic. The lesson of past experience is that systemic problems make the line between public and private largely irrelevant. Solutions require a combined effort by realistic, pragmatic governments and companies that are conscious of their social responsibilities. As we head into a new winter of discontent, the only hope is that the current crisis will drive us back to the substance and details of serious energy policy.

Nick Butler is visiting professor at King’s College London and former group vice-president of strategy and policy development at BP and adviser to Gordon Brown

title: “I Worked For Bp For 30 Years The Energy Sector Has Become Incompetent And Greedy Nick Butler Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-21” author: “William Pierce”

Freezing is necessary but far from sufficient. We still rely on natural gas for about 40% of our daily energy consumption. The promised energy transition has just begun. The price of natural gas we import – about half of our total consumption – will continue to be determined on the world market and is likely to continue to rise, especially if Europe’s hot summer is followed by a cold winter. Further action is needed, from government and the energy industry. First, a support program must be put in place to protect the poorest people and those struggling on tight budgets. The welfare system can be used to protect those on benefits, but some further action, perhaps through discounts on the lowest council tax brackets, may be the best way to help those for whom current energy prices are causing hardship. Business rates can also vary, such as during Covid, to help those businesses most at risk. Energy retailers should be forced to demonstrate that they support those in need, notably by ending the disastrous surcharges imposed on those using pre-paid meters. Second, there needs to be a forensic examination of the accounts of companies across the energy sector. In any case, they must determine their costs and profit margins if they are to regain public trust. There is, for example, no reason why nuclear or renewable electricity producers in the UK should benefit from a price cap dominated by the wholesale price of natural gas. A close look at the actual financials of each company is likely to show that freezing the price cap will be cheaper than currently imagined and will reveal exactly who should be targeted for any taxation of unwarranted profits. Those who resist risk losing their license to operate. The cycle of privatization that began in the 1980s may be coming to an end. I worked for BP for nearly 30 years and learned the hard way during the tanker driver dispute in 2000 that continuity of energy supply is rightly considered a government responsibility. As with the financial sector in 2008, if the private energy sector fails to meet the needs of the society it serves, its functions must and will be taken over by government. Companies now taking part must demonstrate that they understand that they must use their skills and resources in the public interest. The third challenge beyond the freeze is securing adequate natural gas supplies. This is a matter of close cooperation between the government and the energy sector. Other European countries, led by Germany, are actively looking for resources on the world market to replace supplies that no longer come from Russia. The EU has created a single-buyer mechanism and individual countries are pursuing new deals with producers around the world, from Qatar and Algeria to the US. Reserve resources are scarce because investment levels have been low and new supplies typically take three to five years to come on stream. The result is that natural gas shortages across the EU are very likely this winter. Germany and others are preparing for this risk with serious plans to curb consumption. The UK, which apparently considers itself immune to Europe’s problems, has done nothing and is not even matching the current voluntary measures being adopted across the EU to reduce consumption. Ministers seem not to realize that if countries such as France and Norway cut supplies to the UK this winter to meet their own needs, the shortages could be real and significant. The urgent need is to secure a stockpile of additional supplies and develop the neglected natural gas storage facilities that other countries take for granted. Securing and maintaining adequate supplies requires a public-private partnership with a common, primary goal of maintaining energy security. These steps would help mitigate the risks of the current situation. However, they are still insufficient to create real long-term energy security. Sustainable investment is needed in all areas of energy activity – to improve the efficiency of the ways we use energy, to provide the necessary infrastructure for a serious low-carbon transition and to regulate a complex hybrid sector combining public policy and private capital . Loose, unsubstantiated and underfunded commitments to increasingly ambitious headline targets accomplish nothing. A regulator that licenses undercapitalized suppliers in order to promote “competition”, then watches them fail once prices start to rise is incompetent. The fatalism in the face of the inevitable volatility of a global market in which supplies are concentrated and vulnerable to weaponization is pathetic. The lesson of past experience is that systemic problems make the line between public and private largely irrelevant. Solutions require a combined effort by realistic, pragmatic governments and companies that are conscious of their social responsibilities. As we head into a new winter of discontent, the only hope is that the current crisis will drive us back to the substance and details of serious energy policy.

Nick Butler is visiting professor at King’s College London and former group vice-president of strategy and policy development at BP and adviser to Gordon Brown

title: “I Worked For Bp For 30 Years The Energy Sector Has Become Incompetent And Greedy Nick Butler Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “Marie Erlewine”

Freezing is necessary but far from sufficient. We still rely on natural gas for about 40% of our daily energy consumption. The promised energy transition has just begun. The price of natural gas we import – about half of our total consumption – will continue to be determined on the world market and is likely to continue to rise, especially if Europe’s hot summer is followed by a cold winter. Further action is needed, from government and the energy industry. First, a support program must be put in place to protect the poorest people and those struggling on tight budgets. The welfare system can be used to protect those on benefits, but some further action, perhaps through discounts on the lowest council tax brackets, may be the best way to help those for whom current energy prices are causing hardship. Business rates can also vary, such as during Covid, to help those businesses most at risk. Energy retailers should be forced to demonstrate that they support those in need, notably by ending the disastrous surcharges imposed on those using pre-paid meters. Second, there needs to be a forensic examination of the accounts of companies across the energy sector. In any case, they must determine their costs and profit margins if they are to regain public trust. There is, for example, no reason why nuclear or renewable electricity producers in the UK should benefit from a price cap dominated by the wholesale price of natural gas. A close look at the actual financials of each company is likely to show that freezing the price cap will be cheaper than currently imagined and will reveal exactly who should be targeted for any taxation of unwarranted profits. Those who resist risk losing their license to operate. The cycle of privatization that began in the 1980s may be coming to an end. I worked for BP for nearly 30 years and learned the hard way during the tanker driver dispute in 2000 that continuity of energy supply is rightly considered a government responsibility. As with the financial sector in 2008, if the private energy sector fails to meet the needs of the society it serves, its functions must and will be taken over by government. Companies now taking part must demonstrate that they understand that they must use their skills and resources in the public interest. The third challenge beyond the freeze is securing adequate natural gas supplies. This is a matter of close cooperation between the government and the energy sector. Other European countries, led by Germany, are actively looking for resources on the world market to replace supplies that no longer come from Russia. The EU has created a single-buyer mechanism and individual countries are pursuing new deals with producers around the world, from Qatar and Algeria to the US. Reserve resources are scarce because investment levels have been low and new supplies typically take three to five years to come on stream. The result is that natural gas shortages across the EU are very likely this winter. Germany and others are preparing for this risk with serious plans to curb consumption. The UK, which apparently considers itself immune to Europe’s problems, has done nothing and is not even matching the current voluntary measures being adopted across the EU to reduce consumption. Ministers seem not to realize that if countries such as France and Norway cut supplies to the UK this winter to meet their own needs, the shortages could be real and significant. The urgent need is to secure a stockpile of additional supplies and develop the neglected natural gas storage facilities that other countries take for granted. Securing and maintaining adequate supplies requires a public-private partnership with a common, primary goal of maintaining energy security. These steps would help mitigate the risks of the current situation. However, they are still insufficient to create real long-term energy security. Sustainable investment is needed in all areas of energy activity – to improve the efficiency of the ways we use energy, to provide the necessary infrastructure for a serious low-carbon transition and to regulate a complex hybrid sector combining public policy and private capital . Loose, unsubstantiated and underfunded commitments to increasingly ambitious headline targets accomplish nothing. A regulator that licenses undercapitalized suppliers in order to promote “competition”, then watches them fail once prices start to rise is incompetent. The fatalism in the face of the inevitable volatility of a global market in which supplies are concentrated and vulnerable to weaponization is pathetic. The lesson of past experience is that systemic problems make the line between public and private largely irrelevant. Solutions require a combined effort by realistic, pragmatic governments and companies that are conscious of their social responsibilities. As we head into a new winter of discontent, the only hope is that the current crisis will drive us back to the substance and details of serious energy policy.

Nick Butler is visiting professor at King’s College London and former group vice-president of strategy and policy development at BP and adviser to Gordon Brown

title: “I Worked For Bp For 30 Years The Energy Sector Has Become Incompetent And Greedy Nick Butler Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Gloria Clark”

Freezing is necessary but far from sufficient. We still rely on natural gas for about 40% of our daily energy consumption. The promised energy transition has just begun. The price of natural gas we import – about half of our total consumption – will continue to be determined on the world market and is likely to continue to rise, especially if Europe’s hot summer is followed by a cold winter. Further action is needed, from government and the energy industry. First, a support program must be put in place to protect the poorest people and those struggling on tight budgets. The welfare system can be used to protect those on benefits, but some further action, perhaps through discounts on the lowest council tax brackets, may be the best way to help those for whom current energy prices are causing hardship. Business rates can also vary, such as during Covid, to help those businesses most at risk. Energy retailers should be forced to demonstrate that they support those in need, notably by ending the disastrous surcharges imposed on those using pre-paid meters. Second, there needs to be a forensic examination of the accounts of companies across the energy sector. In any case, they must determine their costs and profit margins if they are to regain public trust. There is, for example, no reason why nuclear or renewable electricity producers in the UK should benefit from a price cap dominated by the wholesale price of natural gas. A close look at the actual financials of each company is likely to show that freezing the price cap will be cheaper than currently imagined and will reveal exactly who should be targeted for any taxation of unwarranted profits. Those who resist risk losing their license to operate. The cycle of privatization that began in the 1980s may be coming to an end. I worked for BP for nearly 30 years and learned the hard way during the tanker driver dispute in 2000 that continuity of energy supply is rightly considered a government responsibility. As with the financial sector in 2008, if the private energy sector fails to meet the needs of the society it serves, its functions must and will be taken over by government. Companies now taking part must demonstrate that they understand that they must use their skills and resources in the public interest. The third challenge beyond the freeze is securing adequate natural gas supplies. This is a matter of close cooperation between the government and the energy sector. Other European countries, led by Germany, are actively looking for resources on the world market to replace supplies that no longer come from Russia. The EU has created a single-buyer mechanism and individual countries are pursuing new deals with producers around the world, from Qatar and Algeria to the US. Reserve resources are scarce because investment levels have been low and new supplies typically take three to five years to come on stream. The result is that natural gas shortages across the EU are very likely this winter. Germany and others are preparing for this risk with serious plans to curb consumption. The UK, which apparently considers itself immune to Europe’s problems, has done nothing and is not even matching the current voluntary measures being adopted across the EU to reduce consumption. Ministers seem not to realize that if countries such as France and Norway cut supplies to the UK this winter to meet their own needs, the shortages could be real and significant. The urgent need is to secure a stockpile of additional supplies and develop the neglected natural gas storage facilities that other countries take for granted. Securing and maintaining adequate supplies requires a public-private partnership with a common, primary goal of maintaining energy security. These steps would help mitigate the risks of the current situation. However, they are still insufficient to create real long-term energy security. Sustainable investment is needed in all areas of energy activity – to improve the efficiency of the ways we use energy, to provide the necessary infrastructure for a serious low-carbon transition and to regulate a complex hybrid sector combining public policy and private capital . Loose, unsubstantiated and underfunded commitments to increasingly ambitious headline targets accomplish nothing. A regulator that licenses undercapitalized suppliers in order to promote “competition”, then watches them fail once prices start to rise is incompetent. The fatalism in the face of the inevitable volatility of a global market in which supplies are concentrated and vulnerable to weaponization is pathetic. The lesson of past experience is that systemic problems make the line between public and private largely irrelevant. Solutions require a combined effort by realistic, pragmatic governments and companies that are conscious of their social responsibilities. As we head into a new winter of discontent, the only hope is that the current crisis will drive us back to the substance and details of serious energy policy.

Nick Butler is visiting professor at King’s College London and former group vice-president of strategy and policy development at BP and adviser to Gordon Brown