Every few months, a new event occurs which undermines our reliance on oil & gas. This should show us that having a fossil fuel based economy is inherently unstable. For instance:

• In Mid December 2023, the Houthis have attacked shipping, which has resulted in BP halting oil cargo routing via the Red Sea.
• In September 2021, the UK experienced a fuel crisis, in which panic buying resulted in fuel being unavailable at forecourts.
• On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine resulting in an Energy supply crisis in Europe.
• The price of petrol is very unstable, with prices per litre rising from a pre-pandemic 127.91p/litre on 15 Oct 2019 to a peak of 191.25p on 30 June 22 (source RAC Foundation).
• Wars are fought over oil, with the Chilcot report (The Report of the Iraq Inquiry) showing that oil was certainly a factor in the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.

It would seem obvious therefore that we should make best efforts to reduce our dependence on oil. We can view this as simply a case of resilience, whether that is the resilience of a household and its ability to cope with the swings in price at the pump, or resilience of a fleet operator concerned about availability of fuel at the pump. Otherwise known as Energy Security.

This resilience issue is an important reason to get off oil, but there are others. Improvements in air quality in cities, reduction in emissions from fossil fuels and concern for the environment are all additional strong motivating factors.

Negative Publicity about Electric Vehicles

So it is surprising that we still, in early 2024, encounter such a broad coalition of negativity about electric vehicles, for instance. The rhetoric around EVs still centres around range anxiety and availability of charging infrastructure. And this sentiment seems to be very challenging to break.

So some anecdotal evidence for you. The new Gridserve High Speed Charging hub in St Ives, Cambridgeshire (which your author passes at least 14 times a week) has never had more than 3 of its 6 bays in use at any one time. The modal average is 1 or 0 occupants.

The Shell Recharge Hub in Fenstanton has sometimes had 3 of its 6 bays occupied, perhaps more frequently than the nearby Gridserve Hub, since it is closer to the A14 junction. But I have never seen more than 3 bays occupied.

Now for some hard data. Charging App WattsUp has recorded its highest ever monthly total of Charge Points added to its database in December 2023.

Press releases like this are common place now: “From Osprey Charging Ltd: Our site at Morrisons in Workington is now LIVE! Get ready for an incredible lineup of 16 x 300kW rapid chargers, located off the A597!”

Moto Exeter now has a total of 58 Charge Points, 50 of which are ultra-high speed.

Most EV Charging Happens at Home

It is difficult to get access to reliable data on this, but a 2019 report by the Energy Saving Trust confirmed that 80% of EV Charging happens at home. We would think that this is an underestimate. The Brimstone Energy Nissan Leaf does at least 95% of its charging at home.

Using smart chargers such as the GivEnergy EV Charger at home means that the cost of doing this is very low. The same Brimstone Energy Nissan Leave drove 15000 miles last year for the cost of £398.66 (19 Dec 22 – 18 Dec 23). This works out to be 36 miles per pound, £7.66 per week. This is less than the cost of 1 beer in a London pub.

And….A fossil fuel based economy is inherently unstable

So the benefits to having domestically produced electricity are manifold. As costs of domestic electricity generation and storage continue to reduce (especially thanks to the 0% VAT on batteries as well) we believe that it is in our own interests – both at an individual level and a national level – to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels as much as possible.

And we haven’t even mentioned the “resource curse”.

The fact is that our dependence on oil at home also has an impact on the resource provider. From Generation Investment Management: “It is important to acknowledge that the West’s continued reliance on oil and gas perpetuates the “resource curse”. By using fossil fuels….we are consigning a huge chunk of the world’s population to weak economic growth, political violence and undemocratic government.”

This curse is “out of sight and out of mind”. We don’t like to think of the impact of our actions on far-away places. But it is real.

This isn’t to say that battery or solar production is without cost. Energy production requires resources, which-ever way you cut it.

But when the costs associated with oil are so large and so clear, and affect everyone from the child walking to school who breaths in polluted air, to the corruption that occurs in resource rich gulf states, not to mention the fluctuations in pricing, we really cannot understand why there isn’t a bigger societal effort to move away from oil.

So if you agree, and think that our society need to move off oil for a whole variety of evidence based reasons, then please reach out to Brimstone Energy UK.

We are a company that lives by our values. Trust, integrity, quality.