I had the pleasure of talking to the energy industry’s future talent last week during an event at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Energy UK’s Young Energy Professionals (YEP) Forum brings energy professionals together with the industry’s talent of tomorrow to discuss the issues faced by the industry.
The event was organised by some of SSE’s young energy professionals and we discussed, How is energy policy affecting the energy industry?
Energy requires long term planning and there is, broadly speaking, high level agreement across the main political parties that the objective of British energy policy is to deliver secure, affordable and low-carbon energy.
There is agreement that we can't continue to load costs onto customers through their bills to fund energy investments without considering the impacts on those least able to pay; there is also a consensus that we need to support lower-carbon technologies such as renewables and carbon capture and storage; and there is agreement that consumers want the energy market to be simpler to engage with and to be more transparent about its operations.
Against this background, SSE focuses its advocacy on areas of agreement, arguing strongly for policies and decisions that are fair to energy bill payers and to investors and support the delivery of secure and sustainable supplies of energy over the long term. We try to represent customer interests.
We call for more affordable energy by removing the cost of energy efficiency policies and financial rebates for the most vulnerable customers from bills and funding them via means-tested taxation. At a time when the country needs companies like ours to commit to the kinds of investments that have a payback time of more than 20 years, we also call for long-term certainty in energy policy, that focuses on clear carbon pricing signals and an enduring capacity market. We believe that these policies can help to meet the shared objectives of British energy policy - and could be delivered with the support of all of the main parties in the next Parliament.
It was really refreshing talking to the energy industry’s up and coming stars and reminded me why I’m so happy SSE is investing in our future talent. Since 2007, more than 800 apprentices have been hired by SSE, which represents an overall investment of £64m. In addition we have a fantastic graduate programme and we’re a Living Wage employer.
I’m looking forward to welcoming our next batch of new recruits later this year and seeing what they can offer the industry.