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As another energy crisis takes hold, the UK must take action to reduce energy demand to limit impacts on households that are already suffering through the cost-of-living crisis.

Oil and gas prices are rising sharply as the armed conflict brings shipping in the Middle East to a halt. Qatar’s gas liquification shut-down promises to drastically impact LNG supply chains for the foreseeable future. Present analysis indicates that any reductions to household energy bills from recent government price interventions will be more than wiped out by higher gas prices. As the conflict continues, these prices are expected to rise. Households can ill afford these additional costs.

Government will soon be under pressure to respond to rising costs. Indeed, during the last energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK government spent £51bn on support for energy bills through direct financial transfers. Although this alleviated pressure on households in the short term, those public monies ultimately contributed towards windfall profits for energy companies. Just as significantly, that £51B did nothing to make the UK more resilient to future energy shocks leaving us just as exposed this time around.

At the time of the Ukraine invasion in 2022, there were widespread calls for government to invest in supporting domestic energy security by focusing on energy demand. This would have reduced the UK’s reliance on imported fuels for heating, transportation, and power. The more coordinated demand reduction approach taken in Europe in 2022 helped balance supply and demand, and led to long-term demand reductions through the REPowerEU strategy.

For the UK, demand-side measures could have included more home insulation to lower heating fuel needs, expanding public transportation to reduce reliance on imported diesel and petrol, or more widespread rollout of heat pumps, batteries and solar PV that would allow households to make and use homegrown electricity.

While we can’t change the past, the UK is facing another energy crisis triggered by actions taken beyond the UK’s sphere of influence. The UK has, however, a chance to re-focus policy on domestic systems and markets to be more strategic and fiscally responsible in its responses than last time. Work from the Energy Demand Research Centre and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) argues for a shift in thinking about energy security to focus on reducing exposures to international events by reducing the UK’s need for imported resources in the first place. This means proactively balancing demand with supply, rather than concentrating focus on securing fuel and resource supply chains.

As the increasingly popular saying goes, the cheapest and most secure energy is the energy that you don’t need in the first place.

As we enter what may be a prolonged and volatile energy crisis, it’s time to look at redefining energy security to address demand in addition to supply. This will lower exposure to international events and can enable more resilient households and communities by lowering their exposure to high gas prices. In the process, this approach contributes towards permanently bringing down bills and reducing carbon emissions, supporting a healthier and more prosperous nation.