Proactive Investors - The UK has gone a whole year without importing any gas from Russia, but that wasn’t enough to pull the energy price cap any lower.
Figures published by the government show the UK did not import any gas from the Kremlin in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 in an effort to stifle Vladimir Putin’s war efforts.
At the same time, UK gas exports to Europe tripled.
“We have led the world in standing up to Putin’s attempts to use energy as a weapon of war and, by slamming the door shut on Russian gas, we are helping to cripple the Kremlin war machine and safeguard the UK,” said Grant Shapps, energy security secretary.
Renewable energy also generated 46.2% of the UK’s electricity over the past three months, strengthening the nation’s ability to fuel itself and reducing the reliance on gas imports.
Today’s announcement comes as Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap fell for the first time since 2021.
Suppliers will be limited to charging £2,074 on an annual basis from 1 July, based on the average four-bedroom home, through caps on the price of each unit of gas and electricity.
This is largely in line with the prediction made by specialist forecasting group Cornwall Insight last week, which said the cap would fall to £2,053 per year, although the cap is not expected to fall to below pre-pandemic levels of around £1,000 until the end of the decade.