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Articles by Simon Skillings
Britain’s gas power stations doubled profits during energy crisis – time for a new energy market vision
Gas power stations in Great Britain made approximately £4bn extra profit over 2021 and 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as shown by new UCL analysis funded by E3G. This is due to the current energy market arrangements, which drive up bills for consumers by providing companies with unnecessary profits when gas prices surge on the international market. The excess profits came at a time when fuel poverty surged – rising 47% in England between 2020 and 2023.
An electricity system that works for consumers
The electricity wholesale market was created at privatisation with the intention it would decide the energy mix, balance supply and demand, and drive competition and innovation in retail supply. This was always going to be a challenge, but with a fast-evolving energy system, it has become an impossible ask. The wholesale market is no longer fit for purpose, and consumers are paying the price.
Empowering Europe: Delivering the security and economic benefits of North Seas wind
Offshore wind in the North Seas has the potential to be a major geostrategic asset for Europe. Aside from reducing dependence on fossil fuels, North Seas wind can improve European security, and support building strong supply chains that are ready to capitalise on global market growth. To grasp this opportunity, leaders must step up cooperation and focus on increasing the speed of delivery.
Time for independent energy system operation in the EU?
The need for independent energy system operation is a live debate across the EU. It may be raised as an issue by the European Commission in their forthcoming Grids Package or White Paper on Electricity Market Design. Decisions about institutional reform are never taken lightly. They consume resource and political energy and may temporarily delay many important processes, especially if the affected parties are resistant to the proposed change.
Locational pricing: the key to cheaper, smarter electricity for Great Britain
Why are we paying wind farms to switch off while energy bills remain high? The UK’s electricity system is broken, and locational pricing is the key to fixing it. Simon Skillings draws on his experience of every stage in the GB electricity market design journey since privatisation to conclude that the introduction of locational pricing is the right solution for clean, affordable energy.
Mission Possible: the UK’s clean power mission
Blog 15 Jan 2025 Labour’s clean power mission has the potential to tackle the biggest issues facing the UK today: the climate crisis, the cost of living crisis and delivering economic growth. By accelerating the deployment of renewables, the UK can achieve its clean power mission by 2030. With the right set of policies, clean power can also bring down bills, so the benefits of renewables are felt by all households.
The UK's clean power mission: Delivering the prize
The UK government can both achieve its Clean Power 2030 mission and bring down electricity bills for households. Detailed modelling shows the government target of 95% clean power by 2030 is attainable, and will protect the UK from gas price volatility. If that is paired with the policy reforms in E3G’s Electricity Bills Charter, billpayers could enjoy savings of over £200 a year by 2030.
Gas transition in the EU: What's next?
The EU energy system’s transition away from fossil gas was set in motion by the European Green Deal’s climate targets. The energy crisis of the last two years has firmly shifted the outlook on fossil gas: a clear downwards trajectory in the medium to long term. However, the current EU policy framework is insufficient to ensure a smooth and managed transition. Effective planning of the whole energy system is therefore critical and must be built on solid projections of future demand.
Electricity market reform - more heat than light
This article by Simon Skillings first appeared in Energy Spectrum, hosted on the Cornwall Insight portal. Energy regulator Ofgem has recently announced the appointment of the market operator company Elexon to ‘facilitate’ the development of local electricity markets. This is aimed at harnessing the ability of consumers to reduce their energy costs by changing the time they charge their electric vehicles or fire up their heat pumps.
Cheap, clean electricity for Great Britain by 2030
To protect the economy and permanently lower bills, Great Britain needs to get off gas and rapidly build a low-cost, clean electricity system. This report sets out a framework for achieving this, using the Labour Government’s 2030 clean power target as the guiding star. Great Britain is highly dependent on gas for electricity generation – which presents a major risk for households and national finances. The recent gas crisis pushed inflation sky-high and millions into fuel poverty.
Ambitious and inclusive transitions in cities: Bridging green and digital agendas
Ambitious and inclusive transitions in cities: Bridging green and digital agendas Autores: Johanna Lehne, Simon Skillings, Eleonora Moro Localización: Notes internacionals CIDOB, ISSN-e 2013-4428, Nº. 257, 2021, págs. 1-6 Idioma: inglés Enlaces Texto completo Resumen Digitalisation and climate change are two closely interlinked transitions that will define how cities evolve over the coming decades.
Electricity Market Reform: ACER must empower consumers, not just network operators
ACER, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, has delivered to the EC its preliminary assessment of Europe’s high energy prices and the current wholesale electricity market design. Simon Skillings and Lisa Fischer at E3G interpret ACER’s assessment as showing it wants to maintain the status quo. However, long-term changes in market design are inevitable.
Viewpoint: More work needed to lay foundations for the Cities Mission
The European Commission has launched the Horizon Europe mission to make 100 cities climate neutral by 2030 and inspire other cities to follow suit. The initiative is central to delivering the European Green Deal and identifying priority innovation projects will be critical to its success. The Commission services cannot do this on their own.
Climate Neutral Cities can be the key to winning public support for the European Green Deal
The EC is currently considering a mission proposal to achieve “100 climate neutral cities by 2030 – by and for the citizens”. Arguing for its endorsement and the proposed umbrella governance, Simon Skillings and Eleonora Moro at E3G explain why cities are an ideal laboratory for tackling the big unanswered question: which European Green Deal (EGD) pathways will win genuine public support. No one should doubt that the EGD will be disruptive.
A new EU Gas Market must expose it to all clean energy solutions, not just gas-on-gas
Towards the end of this year the EC is expected to issue new proposals for gas legislation, a once in a decade market reform. Simon Skillings and Lisa Fischer at E3G highlight the big difference between the design of gas and electricity markets for Europe. The electricity market is growing, the gas market needs to shrink.
Eon’s transformation: how it will change the energy debate in Europe
With Eon’s historic decision to restructure we now for the first time will have a large energy supplier not being pulled in two directions, but acting on the single imperative of bringing new energy solutions to customers. This removes one of the key obstacles that has been hindering the energy transition, writes Simon Skillings, former Director of Strategy and Policy at Eon UK and now independent consultant and associate at environmental think tank E3G.
What EU innovation policy can learn from professional cycling
Home Opinions Energy & Environment Climate strategy 2050 What EU innovation policy can learn from professional cycling DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this column reflect the views of the author(s), not of EURACTIV.COM Ltd. By Simon Skillings | E3G 24-04-2019 When Team Sky launched in January 2010, no British cyclist had ever come close to winning the Tour de France. Yet, they felt confident in establishing this ambitious goal, writes Simon Skillings.
Making deep decarbonisation a reality
While the final agreement of the Clean Energy Package represents a critical step forward for the energy industry, I have some bad news. There is still a lot more work to do. Whilst it might be tempting to think of the design of energy regulations and markets as a path from ‘bad’ to ‘good’, this is not the case. It is a never-ending journey driven by changes in context, people and technology. Ten years ago, I helped produce the landmark European Climate Foundation report ‘Roadmap 2050’.
Plugging the Energy Gap
A new E3G report based on analysis from Imperial College London shows that the UK urgently needs to develop a flexible power system. The report lays to rest the argument of a preventative ‘hidden’ cost of renewable power. Investment in grid flexibility lowers the final costs for the grid and for bill payers. This is because the variable output of renewable technology can either be covered by building half as much low carbon generation again, or, cheaper, some flexibility.
Why the EU’s electricity market design proposal actually matters
The European Commission’s vision of an Energy Union with citizens at its core, where consumers take ownership of the energy transition, is to be applauded but needs to be followed up with genuine policy change, writes Simon Skillings. Simon Skillings is Senior Associate at E3G, a UK-based think tank promoting ‘Third Generation Environmentalism’. There is a vision of the future energy system that has become widely accepted. And it is a very seductive vision.
What is happening with UK Energy Policy?
Following the election in 2010, Chris Huhne, newly installed as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, promised that the Government had ‘a reform [agenda] that [would] reshape the market more fundamentally than at any time since the eighties’. It is possible to argue that some of the changes introduced as part of his Electricity Market Reform process were indeed very significant – most notably, a feed-in-tariff to support new nuclear generation.
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