Will Hodson

@lfg_uk energy campaigner
@ycombinator alum

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Trust in UK energy policy is low, because our bills are high.

It's time for the Govt to show its working before it enters any more energy contracts.

They come w so many added costs: not least the £2bn we spend turning off wind and replacing w gas.

@lfg_uk demands transparency.

[Looking for Growth @lfg_uk]

£10 BILLION is on the line.

John Healey promised in the Budget to only buy & build new projects when they lower bills.

So… what’s the issue?

The Government is signing contracts for wind power without admitting the true cost.

Last year, the British people paid £1.5 BILLION to turn turbines off.

This year, we’ll pay over £2 BILLION.

And in 2030? It’ll be around £10 BILLION that’s added to our bills.

Every penny matters right now to families and households.

Nothing is being produced and the British people are paying the price.

This system is BROKEN. We have some of the highest costs in Europe.

The Government must tell us the true cost of renewables before they sign new contracts.

Use our ready-made email to tell your MP to demand the truth 👇

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

So sloppy from @KatieJWhite MP

@TimesRadio: Will £12bn of new offshore wind incur constraint costs?

(£2bn YTD to turn wind off/gas on)

KJ: No cos they have a grid connection?🥴

Does she understand the issue?

The Govt must PUBLISH EXPECTED CONSTRAINT COSTS for EVERY CONTRACT

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Curtailment cost £35m on 6/9/26, £505m in September.

@lfg_uk is calling for transparency.

Our Emergency Energy Bill: no new CfDs without each contract’s full system cost, curtailment included.

The Chancellor says he agrees. Prove it in AR8:

Publish full costs before signing.

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Britain's energy is becoming another way to raise tax from some and hand money to others.

I fear we are losing focus.

Energy is a utility shared by ALL.

Effective government shd make it cheaper for ALL.

That's the foundation of a high growth economy.

This is managed decline.

[Camilla Turner @camillahmturner]

🚨 Exclusive

Labour gives energy companies powers to snoop on tax records

‘Big Brother’ tactics alleged as bill paves way for levy on wealthier households to subsidise others

https://t.co/nSARV7YEis

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Govt snatching defeat from the jaws of victory here.

They approved new gas from Jackdaw, as we called for in the @lfg_uk Energy Bill.

"BUT THAT'S IT!" they boom now.

Mixed messages.

Is saving face for Ed Miliband more important than showing pragmatism to the British public??

[Ed Miliband @Ed_Miliband]

Britain’s international climate leadership is backed by strong action at home.

The Energy Independence Bill is vital to that effort.

Delivering warmer homes, lower bills and energy security through clean power we control, and legislating for no new oil and gas licences.

This is what leadership on climate and the clean energy transition looks like.

https://t.co/DFcvPpQQCi

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

In @lfg_uk's Emergency Energy Bill, we demanded the Govt drop the constraint of Clean Power 2030

It obliged us to procure more clean power, at any cost, to hit targets

We should be free to buy clean power ONLY if it lowers bills, said LFG

Did the Chancellor just meet our ask?

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

For anyone who wants cheaper energy in the UK, there is much to like about this Budget.

Most of all, the bloke delivering it isn't Ed Miliband.

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Another way to work within a rigid grid?

Offload more energy we can't carry to southern GB.

Zonal pricing might stimulate demand north of the bottleneck.

Locating growth zones there definitely would. So too datacentres.

This is what levelling up could look like by the way.

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Oof! Britain paid £50m in balancing costs yday, within a whisker of our £52m record.

It all goes on the billpayers' tab.

Reason: too much wind generation north of a transmission bottleneck.

This means we often pay to throw away 1/3 of the wind power we generate.

Thoughts 🧵:

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

At present, we assume a *fixed* line rating.

We don't recognise cables' ability to carry more energy when cooled.

This means we push no more power through them in winter sleet than we would in a heatwave.

Dynamic line rating is a hack, but we have our backs to the wall here.

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

It's time to pull the beaver lever.

[Ben Goldsmith @BenGoldsmith]

Now Yorkshire brings back beavers to help reduce flooding. The return of native beavers - after an absence of centuries - is one of the most exciting things happening in conservation (and flood and drought mitigation) in Britain today: https://t.co/2W6tCyHzwq

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

🎯

[Looking for Growth @lfg_uk]

Why is the City Bridge Foundation funding “social justice” instead of fixing all of London’s bridges?

The charity was set up in 1282. Today, it’s worth almost *£1.5 billion*.

Yet… London’s bridges are falling apart.

Why?

The Foundation’s rules only require it to maintain 5 bridges. Funds can also be spent on “other charitable purposes” for the benefit of Londoners.

So what are some of these “other charitable purposes”?

👉 A “poet-in-residence”.

👉 Trans and sex worker sector capacity.

👉 A historian examining connections to the slave trade (they found links were “limited”).

👉 “Systems change”, islamic charities, migration support, climate crisis research… and a group campaigning against a new river crossing.

ENOUGH. Governments have failed to fix London’s bridges and one of our oldest institutions has not been directed to step in.

The City of London Corporation is the sole trustee of the Foundation. They have changed the rules before. The rules must change AGAIN to make all of our bridges the priority.

Change the rules. Fix the bridges.

Our research in The Times 👇

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

Deep down, I love Caroline – she is a throwback to the Green Party as a voice on climate.

But her views have not moved with the time.

UK climate 'leadership' is a delusion.

No-one is following a country whose policies have lumbered it w the highest elec prices in the world.

[Caroline Lucas @CarolineLucas]

Government support for drilling at #Jackdaw takes a wrecking ball to any pretence of UK climate leadership & pours fuel on an overheating world - and for what? It’s equivalent to just 2 months of UK gas demand, creates just 27 direct jobs & has *no* impact on energy bills🧵1/4

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

It *could* mean cheaper bills...

... IF North Sea tax revenue is put towards bill support for all, as per @lfg_uk Emergency Energy Bill.

It must not be squandered on dubious projects / backhanded to certain voters.

North Sea reserves belong to us all

They must benefit us all.

[LBC @LBC]

‘Will this mean cheaper energy bills?’
‘No.’

@NickFerrariLBC quizzes @Miatsf about the government’s controversial decision to approve drilling in the Jackdaw North Sea gas field.

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

A win for LFG and our Emergency Energy Bill.

We campaigned hard for new licenses.

Britain is in dire economic straits and a cash-strapped populace will no longer accept virtue-signalling.

New tax revenue must fund bill support + the energy transition

https://t.co/bxWb9UuXk2

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

We can do... *both* 💡

The Norwegian Model.

[Caroline Lucas @CarolineLucas]

Insulating Britain’s homes and investing in heat pumps would do more to cut the cost of living, create jobs and boost the UK’s economy than drilling for new oil @e3g
https://t.co/BPmLLBle0E

[Will Hodson @hodsonwill]

GB has a rigid grid, used to a simple movements of energy.

It must now adapt to intermittent wind, wobbly interconnectors, wild swings in demand.

Overall, it's very much like watching one's grandfather forced to ice skate.

Disaster feels imminent.

Reliable is power essential.

[Andrew Bowie MP @AndrewBowie_MP]

Yesterday, @neso_energy spent a record *£50m* in grid balancing costs….to keep the lights on.

In one day. A warm, sunny day.

This is unsustainable. What is going on at NESO? Why are their models so wrong?