Britain is now free to frack and slash energy bills
This week has seen debate rage about whether the Hinkley Point deal represents good value. But there is another vital element of energy policy that is not being discussed. For one of the key benefits of the vote to leave the European Union is that Britain will not longer have to cooperate with overzealous regulations on shale gas extraction, or fracking, which has the potential to transform the energy market.
Of course, any kind of resource extraction needs regulation to prevent companies from despoiling the environment and leaving the public to pick up the tab. But the EU’s regulations went much further than that. In a letter to the Government last year, nine leaders of multinational energy companies warned that EU regulations “seriously exacerbate an already ailing investment climate for producing oil and gas within Europe”