The Future of Energy Policy

This review of the state of British energy policy has been completed at a time of increasingly intense activity in the energy field. The expansion of the Windscale reprocessing plant, the prospect of an inquiry into the need for a fast breeder programme, and the restructuring of the electricity supply industry are all symptoms of the new awareness of energy policy as an entity in itself, basic to the requirements of the economy rather than subordinated to sectional or political needs as was often the case in the past. The Department of Energy has only been in existence since Christmas 1973 and in spite of the professed wish of both main political parties to remove energy from the realms of inter-party conflict, many decisions still appear to be taken with more regard for short term political consequences than the long term future of energy supplies. Hence energy policy must always be considered in its overall political and social context in order to achieve any understanding of the reasoning behind the formulation of policies. The present energy debate has tended to concentrate on technical issues, about which there could be some factual agreement, while leaving the basic assumptions behind all points of view unsaid. This has encouraged needless polarization over technical issues. Differences in approach to problems of future lifestyles, from economic growth to civil liberties, are all reflected in the energy debate but cannot be fully discussed because of the limitations imposed by the initiators, the policy-makers.