The source, formerly close to the heart of government, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We should thank president Putin for focusing attention on the security of energy supplies.”
Russia has long used its exports of natural gas as a lever to engineer political outcomes it considered to be in its own national interest. Speaking before the conflict in the Ukraine and the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, the source said: “We need to revive investment in our own generating capacity.
“I’m extremely keen on a European single market for energy, so we are not so dependent on Mr Putin. We should develop our own energy policy and market and make it responsive to clients.”
‘Not so dependent on Mr Putin’
Helping food and drink manufacturers use energy more efficiently is the subject of a free, one-hour webinar to be staged on at 11am GMT on Thursday September 18. See the end of this article for more details.
The former cabinet insider went on to say that only the economic downturn had prevented Britain suffering serious power cuts. “The thing that has saved us from power cuts has been recession. I can see a lot of investment going into this.”
It was high time to reappraise the nation’s energy needs – not least because of the failing popularity of green energy sources. “Green energy is less popular because the country has discovered it costs more [than conventional sources of power generation]”, said the source. “New investment and sources of gas is what we require.”
Meanwhile, the Food Manufacture Group is staging a free, one-hour online seminar on the new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) at 11am GMT on Thursday September 18.
Mandatory legislation
The webinar – staged in partnership with energy efficiency specialist JRP Solutions – will provide the latest advice on how to comply with the new mandatory legislation and how to make savings for your food and drink manufacturing business.
Taking part in the webinar will be representatives from government, the Food and Drink Federation and JRP Solutions. See the speaker list below.
Each speaker will deliver a short presentation on how the mandatory ESOS scheme is likely to affect food and drink businesses that employ more than 250 workers, and how they should plan to make savings. The webinar will end with a question and answer session.
Online registration is straightforward and you can submit a question to our expert panel, in advance, by emailing Michael.stones@wrbm.com.
Energy webinar speakers
•Martin Adams, ESOS team leader, Energy Efficiency Deployment Office
•Stephen Reeson, FDF head of climate change and energy policy
•Food and drink manufacturer
•Jes Rutter, md JRP Solutions
Reserve your free place here.