Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is facing frustration as energy bills are set to rise to their highest level in three years for millions of households this winter. During a visit to a Utilita energy support hub in Luton on Wednesday, she heard from customers worried about the upcoming price cap increase.
Moses Ogwang, 60, from Luton, admitted he was concerned after watching news reports about the incoming price cap. When someone in the room pointed out that Ms Fahnbulleh was the person to talk to about it, they quipped: “It’s her fault.”
Global conflicts drive price rises
The problem for Ms Fahnbulleh and new PM Andy Burnham is that plans to slash costs for struggling families are constantly buffeted by forces outside their control. Global conflicts, such as the war in Iran or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, send prices rocketing, leaving the UK Government to scramble to deal with the aftermath.
Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves expressed fury at Donald Trump over the Iran war. In April, she told The Mirror it was a "folly" to have no clear exit plan as she watched her efforts to stabilise the British economy go up in smoke.
Long-term reform promised
While there is more the government could do to ease short-term pressures on bills, Ms Fahnbulleh said international shocks are “massively frustrating” as work is thrown off course. The Labour MP for Peckham, who previously quit as an energy minister from Keir Starmer’s government, has made energy affordability her number one priority.
Asked what she and Andy Burnham will do differently from Mr Starmer and Rachel Reeves, who received little credit for slashing energy bills by £150, Ms Fahnbulleh said: “I think the thing that people will see differently from Andy is that he's really clear that yes, we've got to do the short-term things to provide breathing space, but we fundamentally have to reform a system that isn't working for people.”
She underlined the importance of long-term work to increase renewables and insulate Britain from global shocks. However, as Mr Starmer and Ms Reeves found out, the public is impatient, and structural changes to the broken energy system take time.
Some of Ms Fahnbulleh’s biggest critics are her children. When asked what they say to her about energy bills at home, she said with a laugh: “They say try harder.”
