The UK government will introduce an Energy Independence Bill, the UK’s King Charles revealed in the 2026 King’s Speech.
“My Ministers believe that energy independence must be a long-term goal of national security and that the nation’s energy security requires long-term investment and reform, as demonstrated by recent events in the Middle East,” King Charles said in the speech, which was transcribed on the UK government website.
“Increased production of clean British energy will help to ensure that enemies of the United Kingdom cannot attack the economic security of the British people,” he added.
“My Ministers will therefore introduce an Energy Independence Bill to scale-up homegrown renewable energy and protect living standards for the long-term [Energy Independence Bill],” he continued.
In the speech, King Charles warned that “an increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom, with the conflict in the Middle East only the most recent example”.
“Every element of the nation’s energy, defense and economic security will be tested,” he said.
“My government will respond to this world with strength and aim to create a country that is fair for all. My Ministers will take decisions that protect the energy, defense, and economic security of the United Kingdom for the long-term,” he added.
“My government will seek to reinforce the long-term energy, defense, and economic security of the United Kingdom as an essential component of strength on the world stage,” he went on to state.
When asked for comment on the King’s Speech, and the Energy Independence Bill in particular, Enrique Cornejo, the director of policy at industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), told Rigzone that the bill announced in the King’s Speech “is a recognition that energy security is national security and the foundation of a modern industrial Britain”.
“It must also be recognized that it makes sense for the UK to make the most of its entire homegrown energy mix – the oil and gas it continues to need, plus wind and other renewable sources of energy alongside nuclear power,” he added.
“Events in the Middle East are showing very clearly that the UK must reduce its reliance on energy imports, but the nation is set to depend on shipments from places like the USA and Qatar for half its gas by 2035,” he continued.
“The introduction of the new oil and gas price mechanism as soon as possible, could close this gap and restore confidence in the domestic energy market,” he went on to state.
“Without these changes, investment in many UK energy projects are likely to remain on hold which reduces government revenue, threatens thousands of jobs and exposes the security of the nation’s energy supply to continuing geopolitical risk,” Cornejo warned.
Rigzone asked the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and HM Treasury for comment on Cornejo’s statement.
In response, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Rigzone, “after the second fossil fuel crisis in half a decade, our clean power mission is the only way to bring down bills for good and take back control of our energy”.
“The Energy Independence Bill is the next step in delivering on our mission – giving us the power we need to drive forwarding with clean power to cut bills, support families out of fuel poverty and deliver well-paid secure jobs for a generation of young people,” he added.
HM Treasury has not responded to Rigzone at the time of writing.
The King’s Speech is the speech that the King reads out in the Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament, the UK Parliament website states.
“It sets out the program of legislation that the government intend to pursue in the forthcoming parliamentary session,” the site adds.
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