Nigel Farage questions EU's 'solidarity' on energy crisis

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As Russia continues to unleash havoc on Europe by cutting off its crucial gas supplies, prices are soaring globally as a result. This is having a knock-on effect on energy bills in the UK, with the price cap (maximum annual tariff) tipped to reach up to £4,000 by January, according to estimates from consultants BFY. While the Government has announced certain measures to intervene, such as a £400 winter discount for 29 million households, experts have stressed the importance of a long-term plan.

A decisive strategy could prove vital as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak go head-to-head in the race to become the country’s next leader.

And Mike Foster, head of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, has handed both contestants a masterplan which either could announce “in September” to lift help lift the country out of the crisis.

He claims that by shifting reliance from natural gas to hydrogen, the UK can avoid being “held ransom” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s gas cuts.

The industry insider told Express.co.uk: “What the Government has to do as a matter of priority, and I am yet to see the signal from Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss show that they understand this, is they have to shift the UK away from natural gas and on to hydrogen.

“The sooner they can make that announcement, the better, because it sends a signal to the market about the way the future is going to be.

“That then starts to have an impact on the demand and supply constraint that the UK is under.”

While the UK does have plans to create a hydrogen economy, as laid out in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Hydrogen Strategy, Mr Foster believes things need to speed up.

The gas alternative is low-carbon so as well as having the potential to slash bills, it will also help the UK race to net zero.

Mr Foster explained: “Let’s not wait until 2026, like Boris Johnson wanted to do, to announce that the gas networks will be converted to hydrogen.

“Sunak or Truss could make that announcement in September and then let British innovators and British manufacturers and industry got on with producing that hydrogen knowing it is going to be allowed into the network.

“If they just keep hanging around until 2026 before a decision is made, that is another four years where we rely upon a global natural gas market that could potentially still be held to ransom by Putin.

“That is just not a position that should be held by any politician, especially those seeking to become the next Prime Minister.”

But in the hydrogen strategy, the target is to build a “thriving low-carbon hydrogen sector” by 2030.

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Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has previously said: “The British Energy Security Strategy made clear that we are backing hydrogen not just as a viable source of clean, affordable homegrown energy, but as an emerging industry of the future in which the UK can lead the world.”

But neither Mr Sunak nor Liz Truss have appeared to pay particular focus to the natural gas alternative in the run-up to the leadership election.

Both have instead, pledged to slash the VAT green levy on energy bills, which would save households around £160.

But this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the potential £4,000 consumers may have to fork out.

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