# Choose cheap energy supply over net zero at Budget, Blair tells Healey

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/choose-cheap-energy-supply-over-net-zero-at-budget-blair-tells-healey/
- Published: 2026-10-27T00:01:38+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T06:04:21+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-john-healey-budget-energy-net-zero-b3073804.html
- Topics: Entertainment, Government, Politics, TV, UK, World

## Key points

- Blair’s institute wants cheaper energy to lead the Government’s strategy.
- It proposes incentives for businesses to use surplus electricity.
- Zonal pricing could lower costs in some regions and raise them in others.

## Summary

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change is urging the Government to make cheaper energy the main focus of its strategy, rather than prioritising net zero targets in the upcoming Budget. It says the shift matters because UK energy bills remain among the highest in Europe and the G7, and high gas prices have driven costs up.

The institute proposes replacing the Clean Power 2030 strategy with a “cheaper power mission”, while keeping net zero as the long-term destination. Its suggestions include rewarding businesses that use electricity at off-peak times or where grid demand is low, speeding up connections for valuable energy projects, and reconsidering regional, or zonal, electricity pricing. Zonal pricing could lower bills in energy-producing areas such as Scotland but risk raising them in south-east England.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.