Energy security in the UK
Energy security starts at the building
Most British homes are heated by gas, and much of that gas is imported at prices set abroad. That is why energy efficiency, electric heating and home-grown power have become matters of national security as well as household bills. Here is the picture in figures, and what it means for the building you own.
- Households in England heating with gas
- 86%
- UK gas
- Net importer since 2004
- Electricity from renewables
- 52.1% in 2025
- Homes at band C or better
- 56% in England
- Price cap, October to December 2026
- £1,723 a year
Reviewed October 2026
What energy security means
Energy security means being able to rely on a supply of energy, at a price people can afford, whatever happens abroad. For most of the last century that was a matter for governments, power stations and pipelines. It is now also a question about buildings, because homes are the largest users of the country's gas.
The government's Warm Homes Plan makes the connection directly: "Electrification in the home is the key to lower bills and energy security." You do not have to agree with every part of that plan to see the arithmetic behind it.
How Britain heats its homes
86%
of households in England heat with gas
About 21.2 million households. English Housing Survey, 2023 to 2024.
61%
of the energy a home uses goes on heating its rooms
A further 17% heats water. Energy Consumption in the UK, 2025 data.
4.8m
households in Great Britain are off the gas grid
Many rely on oil, LPG or electric heating. Estimate for 2024.
Under 2%
of UK homes are heated by a heat pump
Climate Change Committee, June 2026.
Where the gas comes from
The UK has been a net importer of gas since 2004. Its own production peaked in 2000, and in 2025 it was at its lowest level since 1973.
Most of the gas the UK imports arrives by pipeline from Norway, which supplied 69% of imports in 2025. A further 23% came from the United States, shipped as liquefied natural gas. Households are the largest users of all that gas, taking 37% of UK demand in 2025.
How far new North Sea production could change this is debated, and we take no side in that argument. What is not in dispute is that a home which needs less gas is less exposed, wherever the gas comes from.
Why gas prices reach your bill
Ofgem's price cap for October to December 2026 puts a typical dual-fuel bill at £1,723 a year for a household paying by direct debit, 4% more than the quarter before. Ofgem attributed the rise to higher wholesale gas prices following conflict in the Middle East.
It was not the first time. In 2022 the government introduced the Energy Price Guarantee, which held a typical bill at £2,500 a year while wholesale prices were far higher. Ofgem changed its definition of typical use in 2026, so the two figures are not like for like.
Gas reaches electricity bills too. Gas-fired power stations still generated about a third of the UK's electricity in 2025, and gas often sets the wholesale price of power. So a household with no gas boiler is still affected by the gas market, only less so.
Electricity is changing faster than heating
In 2025 renewable sources generated 52.1% of the UK's electricity and gas 31.8%. The government's Clean Power 2030 mission aims for Great Britain to generate enough clean power by 2030 to meet its total annual electricity demand, with gas-fired stations kept as back-up for when they are needed.
Heating has barely begun to change. That is the gap which the Warm Homes Plan, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the new standards for rented homes are meant to close.
The housing stock is the weak point
56%
of homes in England are band C or better
Up from 26% in 2014. English Housing Survey, 2024.
27%
of homes built before 1919 reach band C
Solid walls make older homes the hardest to improve.
£7,480
average cost to bring a home up to band C
The mean for homes in England below that band.
9.4%
of households in England are in fuel poverty
About 2.36 million households. Official projection for 2025.
The English Housing Survey puts the average (mean) score for homes in England at 68 points in 2024, the very top of band D. More than four in ten homes are still below band C, and each of them draws more from the gas main, or from the grid, than a better-insulated home would.
What a building owner can do
- Use less. Insulation, draught-proofing and good heating controls cut demand in every winter that follows. An EPC or a retrofit assessment shows where the heat is going.
- Electrify the heating. A heat pump can deliver three to four units of heat for each unit of electricity it uses.
- Generate and store. Solar panels, with a battery where the numbers work, replace electricity you would otherwise buy.
- Use it flexibly. A smart meter and a time-of-use tariff let you run appliances, a heat pump or a car charger when electricity is cheap and plentiful. At the end of June 2026, 72% of meters in homes and small businesses in Great Britain were smart or advanced.
Not every step suits every building, and the order matters. Our renewable energy guide explains how to decide, and our guide to grants and schemes sets out the help available.
Commercial buildings
In England and Wales, rented commercial buildings have needed band E or better, or a registered exemption, since 1 April 2023. In June 2026 the government proposed raising that to band B from 2031 for buildings over 1,000 square metres, where the improvements are cost-effective, and gave stronger energy security as one of its reasons. Nothing changes until regulations are made. Our commercial EPC page has the detail.
What we do about it
We cannot change the price of gas. We can tell you, accurately, how much energy your building needs and what would reduce it: with a certificate that shows where it stands, an assessment that works out what it needs, and coordination that checks the work is designed and installed to deliver it.
Warm Homes schemes, social housing and installers
Retrohaus Energy Consultancy provides retrofit assessment and retrofit coordination for homes improved under Warm Homes schemes, working with social housing providers and local authorities. We also support solar PV and air source heat pump (ASHP) installers, including the work they deliver under grant schemes.
Sources: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2026, chapters 4 and 5 (July 2026, chapter 4 revised September 2026) and Energy Consumption in the UK 2026 (September 2026); English Housing Survey 2023 to 2024 fact sheet on low carbon technologies and 2024 to 2025 headline findings on energy efficiency; House of Commons Library briefing on households off the gas grid (August 2026); Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics in England, 2026; smart meter statistics for Great Britain, June 2026; Ofgem, energy price cap announcement (26 August 2026); GOV.UK, Warm Homes Plan (21 January 2026), Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and the interim response on non-domestic minimum energy efficiency standards (18 June 2026); Climate Change Committee, 2026 progress report to Parliament (24 June 2026). This page reports published figures and is not a statement of policy or a forecast.
Energy security questions
The national picture, and your part in it.
What does energy security have to do with my home?
Heating accounts for most of the energy a home uses, and most homes heat with gas, much of it imported. A home that needs less heat, or gets it from electricity, is less exposed when gas prices rise. Multiply that across millions of homes and it changes how much energy the country has to buy from abroad.
Where does the UK's gas come from?
The UK has been a net importer of gas since 2004. In 2025 Norway supplied 69% of the gas the UK imported and the United States 23%, according to the Digest of UK Energy Statistics. UK production was at its lowest level since 1973.
Does insulating one home really make a difference?
To the household, yes: less heat lost means less energy to pay for. To the country, it adds up. Households are the largest users of gas in the UK, taking 37% of demand in 2025, and space heating is about 61% of the energy a home uses.
Will a heat pump protect me from gas prices?
Partly. A heat pump runs on electricity, and gas-fired power stations still influence what electricity costs. But a heat pump needs far less energy for the same heat, and the share of electricity generated from renewable sources is rising: it was 52.1% in 2025. Solar panels and a time-of-use tariff reduce the exposure further.
What is Clean Power 2030?
It is the government's aim that by 2030 Great Britain will generate enough clean power to meet its total annual electricity demand, with gas-fired power stations kept as back-up for when they are needed. It is a target, not a forecast.