'I It was a risk when they hired me,” smiles Emma Pinchbeck. The chief executive of industry voice Energy UK is hours away from a black-tie awards ceremony in which he will unofficially step down. She will join the government's climate change watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, in the coming days after serving in the role for about five years.
“It’s very funny to remind people of this now, but I took an untested risk. Who do you want as your publicist?'' I can't remember. That they inevitably chose someone like me. ”
Pinchbeck was approached for the job when her first child was a newborn. A former head of climate policy at WWF, he was an outspoken advocate of low carbon policy for the UK and was prominent in his role as deputy chief executive of industry body RenewableUK. Naturally, a large part of the interview process focused on whether she was a good fit to advocate for companies interested in fossil fuels.
“We've never had a problem in five years,” Pinchbeck said. There may have been disagreements over the bolder elements of the government's net-zero plans early in her tenure, but those were resolved years ago. Today, the transition to clean energy is less about green ideology and more about economic opportunity.
It is unclear whether this message will last in the United States, where Donald Trump's re-election is already causing anxiety among renewable energy developers around the world. There is hope for Pinchbeck. “The United States has grown to be one of the world's largest markets for things like batteries and onshore wind power, and much of that happened during the last Trump presidency. One of the fastest-growing jobs in the United States is wind power generation. He was an engineer there.
“What I'm paying close attention to is the anti-inflation laws, which actually became popular in a lot of industrialized states, red states, and helped establish factories and jobs. These policies As is always the case in politics, there may not be much change because it is clearly beneficial to the narrative of improving the economy and domestic industry that the camp has been leading, distinguishing between the noise and what actually happens. We need to do that, but it's really too early to tell.”
Mr Pinchbeck is confident that the economic argument for transitioning to renewable energy will prevail. “In this job, we rarely talk about climate change or carbon emissions. We just call it economics,” she says.
So was Energy UK having the foresight to choose a relative outsider to lead this change? “Boards felt strongly that energy, despite its real importance to the economy, is often ignored or treated as a political toy. We also understood that the whole thing was changing, so the question was: Can we change what we're about and what we're for? Isn't it possible?
According to industry veterans, Pinchbeck has done just that. Once seen as a staunch voice for the former 'big six' energy companies, Energy UK now reflects an industry living with green ambitions. they say.
“We're louder than ever,” Pinchbeck says. “We're also more relevant. We're in more rooms, with more serious people, and having more serious conversations than we did five years ago. But the energy has never been so much in the news. To believe that I have anything to do with what is being done to me is just flattering my ego.”
A few months after she took on the role, the world entered a pandemic that forced people back into their homes and caused utility bills to skyrocket. However, energy market prices fell, hurting domestic power producers. British energy companies faced a new crisis as market prices rebounded sharply after major countries restarted their economies. Rising costs have forced many companies into bankruptcy and left millions of homes in limbo.
Surviving suppliers faced further price increases after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe following its invasion of Ukraine. Currently, as conflicts intensify in the Middle East, energy market prices show no signs of returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Mr Pinchbeck is clear that the crisis is far from over. “At least not in terms of how people are experiencing it. That's because people are already struggling. [with their bills] Toward the energy crisis. Government support has helped, but people went into debt during the energy crisis, and that debt is now even deeper. ”
Official figures for energy company debt have hit a record high of £3bn. But from conversations Pinchbeck has had with individual energy suppliers, she believes the real figure is likely to be much higher.
“We have been calling for government support for this winter since April last year. Every year, at the end of the winter, we say: “Next winter will still be tough for our customers.'' Is there anything we can do?’ Nothing will happen until September, when rising utility costs become a political issue again,” she says.
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Government-provided solutions typically do too little, too late to have a long-term impact on energy affordability for struggling households. Such interventions also cost the government more than necessary, she says.
Mr Pinchbeck's final demands on the government are: “Come up with lasting solutions to people's energy bills. Think about energy bills alongside other changes to the energy system.'' Here are 99 good ideas the government could start considering. ”
He said the government could move some of the green tax from electricity bills to gas bills or even general taxation, which could make electric cars and heat pumps more affordable. . She is also calling on authorities to consider a social charge system to direct support to families most in need.
“This is a boring technocrat pointing out, but for the last 14 years we have asked the Department for Work and Pensions to share data on what the vulnerabilities are with other government departments that are trying to support these families. We need to know who these people are. Who needs help first in a crisis? We need a shared data infrastructure. I would love to see that happen,” she says.
The UK energy industry has undergone dramatic changes in the five years since Pinchbeck took the helm of the industry body. But the pace of change will accelerate over the next five years. To meet the government's goal of creating a clean electricity system by 2030, the sector needs to double onshore wind power, triple solar power plants and quadruple offshore wind capacity. be. The UK will also need to build twice as much grid infrastructure in the next five years as it has built in the past 10 years.
“The challenge is how do you do that and how do you bring the public along in building all this infrastructure,” Pinchbeck says. “How do we make sure it's fair for communities across the country and ensure that costs are shared fairly across the economy at a time when many are struggling to afford essential energy?” How do we fund that transition so that it feels like a “service?” “
The key, Pinchbeck says, is to show the public the “brilliant economic benefits” of the energy transition. “Make what we're doing visible to the public. Show that what we're trying to do has value. If we can do that, a lot of questions about politics will disappear. .”
resume
year 38
family I am married and have two children, ages 2 and 5.
education MSc (Oxford), Cranfield School of Management's Advanced Leadership Programme.
pay Six figures plus performance-related bonuses. Energy UK executives did not receive their full remuneration during the energy crisis.
last holiday A family trip to the Channel Islands (by ferry!).
The best advice she gave me “When in doubt, the truth will almost always settle the matter” (My Grumpy, 90).
biggest regret “The way I work sometimes impacts the workload of my team. I believe I have sufficiently apologized to them.”
Phrases she uses too much “Sorry, I'm running late.'' “My two little humans.''
how she relaxes Exercising in front of two small humans. Now, I cook while the radio is on.
