💥 Paying Twice for Power – Miliband’s Energy U-turn Proves Reform UK Was Right

📍 By Reform UK Campaign, Yorkshire & Humber

⚠️ “We warned you. Now Miliband just proved it.”For months, Reform UK has warned that Britain’s reckless rush to Net Zero by 2030 would:> ✅ Collapse under its own contradictions✅ Leave consumers footing the bill for two energy systems✅ Force a return to fossil backup when renewables fail✅ Create a gold rush for private developers while real infrastructure lagsThis week, Ed Miliband admitted we were right.

🔥 What Just Happened?On July 16th, The Telegraph revealed that:> 📣 Ed Miliband has ordered the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to secure 40GW of backup power – enough for 35–40 new gas-fired power stations🔁 This is to cover days when wind and solar can’t keep the lights on💷 It will drive up Capacity Market costs to £4 billion/year by 2030 – paid for by consumers🔗 Telegraph Source (16 July 2025)

🧾 “Paying Twice” in Action:Britain’s energy strategy now means:💸 You pay to build wind & solar (via Contracts for Difference – CfDs)💸 You also pay for fossil fuel backup (via the Capacity Market)⚡ You still pay sky-high prices when renewables fail and backup prices surge> “This results in two parallel electricity systems… and increases costs.”— John Constable, Renewable Energy Foundation

🧠 Reform UK Predicted This Months AgoHere’s what we said:> 🗨️ “Net Zero is a triple-cost trap — one to build, one to back up, and one to subsidise failure.”— Reform UK energy campaign, May 2025

> 🗨️ “The public are being told solar and wind are cheap. But when the grid fails, you’ll be paying gas prices anyway.”— Reform UK, Thorpe Marsh BESS Campaign, April 2025

> 🗨️ “They’re building solar farms with no grid and no storage. Then gas fills the gap — so what was the point?”— Rother Valley Solar Sprawl Briefing, June 2025

> 🗨️ “Without grid reform and baseload supply, this is just corporate welfare dressed as climate policy.”— Reform UK Submission to Ofgem, July 2025

📊 The Real Cost of Miliband’s Energy Plan📦 Policy Mechanism 💷 Annual Cost (2025) ⏫ By 2030Contracts for Difference (CfDs) £1.8 billion [^1] >£3–5 billionCapacity Market £1.3 billion [^2] £4 billion [^3]Renewables Subsidy Total £25.8 billion [^4] Still risingCost to Household £100+ (CfDs) + £21 (Capacity) Possibly £200+

⚙️ This Isn’t Energy Security. It’s Chaos.Miliband’s plan now relies on:🛢️ 100+ new gas plants to cover solar/wind gaps⚠️ No long-duration storage ready🚫 No grid reform plan in place⏳ Delays on transformers, substations, and interconnectors (NGESO Appendix G, June 2025)🧾 Consumers footing every billMeanwhile, farmland and greenbelt are being handed to solar developers with no delivery guarantee — and no proper scrutiny.

🧭 What Reform UK Is Demanding:🔧 A full review of Net Zero law and targets📊 A cost-benefit audit of renewables, backup, and grid subsidies🏗️ Investment in UK-based baseload solutions like Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)🌱 Scaling rooftop solar film and brownfield projects – not swallowing up Grade 2 farmland🔌 A National Grid Renewal Strategy before approving more NSIPs🛑 An immediate pause on solar and BESS NSIPs until real grid reform is delivered

🗳️ The Public Deserves the TruthThis isn’t a green future. It’s a subsidised collapse, where private developers get rich, fossil fuels still dominate, and households are forced to pay twice — or more.> ✊ Reform UK called this months ago.❌ Labour’s Clean Power plan is now backed by gas and subsidies.🔁 The public is caught in a loop of failing policy and rising costs.

📚 References[^1]: House of Commons Library. “CfD Impact on Bills.” March 2025.

[^2]: DESNZ. “Capacity Market Costs 2024–25.” Published January 2025.

[^3]: Office for Budget Responsibility, Fiscal Risks Report, May 2025.

[^4]: John Constable, Renewable Energy Foundation, quoted in The Telegraph, 16 July 2025.

[^5]: NESO Capacity Register, July 2025