Brexit: Energy security

The United Kingdom House of Lords: Select Committee on the European Union: EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee published a report on Brexit: energy security on the 29 January 2018. The report looked at implications for energy supply, consumer costs and decarbonisation.

Further information

The report stated that Brexit would put the UK's current frictionless trade in energy with the EU at risk. The Committee called on the UK Government to set out how it would work with the EU to anticipate and manage supply shortages, and to assess what impact leaving the Internal Energy Market would have on the price paid by consumers for their energy.

The Committee also heard that the UK's ability to build future nuclear generation sites, including Hinkley Point C, was in doubt if access to specialist EU workers was curtailed, and that failure to replace the provisions of the Euratom Treaty by the time the UK left the EU could result in the UK being unable to import nuclear materials.

The Committee found that EU investment had made a significant contribution to constructing and maintaining a secure energy system in the UK, and that replacing this funding would be critical to ensuring sufficient infrastructure was in place to enable future energy trading.

The report concluded that, post-Brexit, the UK may be more vulnerable to energy shortages in the event of extreme weather or unplanned generation outages, and asked the Government to set out how it would work with the EU to anticipate and manage such conditions.

• Primary Source

UK: Parliament: House of Lords: Committees: News, 29.01.18: Brexit: energy security report published http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/eu-energy-environment-subcommittee/news-parliament-2017/brexit-en-sec-rpt/

EP: EPRS: Briefing, November 2017: The Impact of Brexit on the EU Energy System http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-impact-of-brexit-on-the-eu-energy-system/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

United Kingdom: House of Commons: Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee: 4th Report (2016-17) HC 909: Leaving the EU: negotiation priorities for energy and climate change policy http://www.europeansources.info/record/leaving-the-eu-negotiation-priorities-for-energy-and-climate-change-policy/

Centre for European Reform: Policy Brief, September 2017: Brexit and energy: time to make some hard choices http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-and-energy-time-to-make-some-hard-choices/

Chatham House: Research Paper, May 2017: Staying Connected: Key Elements for UK–EU27 Energy Cooperation After Brexit http://www.europeansources.info/record/staying-connected-key-elements-for-uk-eu27-energy-cooperation-after-brexit/

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