Minister says UK 'can't nullify' energy crunch amid calls for fracking and wind expansion

Revised energy strategy expected shortly after Russia's offensive in Ukraine

Consumers in Britain are bracing for a surge in energy costs amid a global gas squeeze. AP

Fracking and onshore wind have been touted as potential solutions to an energy crisis in Britain that has put ministers under pressure over soaring consumer fuel prices.

The government says a rewritten energy strategy will be published shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added to the woes of Europe’s fuel consumers.

Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis said on Saturday that the government “can’t completely nullify” the effects of the global energy crunch as the UK faces calls to ease costs with a windfall tax on energy providers.

Such a tax “won’t necessarily have the impact on global prices that people think it will” and would deprive energy companies of money needed to produce more power, argued Mr Lewis on Sky News.

Protests were due on Saturday over what the opposition describes as a cost-of-living crisis, after energy regulator Ofgem announced a 54 per cent rise in its price cap during what it called a once-in-a-generation gas squeeze.

As ministers look to increase domestic energy supply, the Daily Telegraph reported Prime Minister Boris Johnson would be presented with plans to double the UK’s onshore wind capacity by 2030 and treble it by 2035.

Mr Johnson could sign off the proposals as soon as next week, it said. But some of his own Conservative MPs are sceptical of wind power and of loosening planning laws to build new turbines.

An expansion of onshore wind power is being proposed as a move to ease the energy crunch in Britain. Getty

The prime minister, who once said turbines in Britain “couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding”, has warmed to wind power in recent years but has previously put more emphasis on offshore wind parks.

Another politically contentious option would be a revival of shale gas fracking, a practice that was halted in 2019 because of concerns that the drilling could cause earthquakes.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said that fracking would not lower costs because the problem in Britain is high global energy prices rather than a shortage of gas.

“Producers won’t sell shale gas to UK consumers below the market price. They’re not charities,” he said.

But some MPs are urging him to reconsider, and the head of British Gas owner Centrica, Chris O’Shea, said the idea was worth looking into.

“The key question is, do we want to source our gas from overseas? Or do we want to have more gas domestically? And shale is certainly worth exploring,” he told BBC radio.

However, “we do have to be careful, if it does cause earthquakes, it's not something we should do,” he said.

Mr Johnson has promised that Britain will stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year and look at reducing what is already a small quantity of gas purchases from Moscow.

Russian imports account for 18 per cent of Britain’s diesel but none of its petrol and heating oil, ministers say.