Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has vehemently denied reports of a proposed £30 boiler levy, branding the claims as 'absolute nonsense' and accusing critics of 'scaremongering'. The Labour MP made the statement in the House of Commons on Monday, 6th January 2026.
Miliband Blasts 'Irresponsible' Scaremongering
Addressing the Commons directly, Mr Miliband sought to counter what he described as a wave of misleading information. 'Let me go to the bigger picture,' he began, 'I think there has been quite a lot of nonsense talked about last week and quite a lot of scaremongering. I do want to deal with it directly.'
He moved swiftly to dismiss fears over energy security, citing official sources. The minister pointed to a statement from the National Energy System Operator (NESO), which confirmed that electricity supplies were never below anticipated demand, countering rumours of potential blackouts.
Official Reassurance on Gas Supplies and System Stability
Mr Miliband urged the public to read a helpful blog published by NESO to understand the situation better. On the critical issue of gas storage, he relayed assurances from National Gas that the overall picture across Great Britain’s eight main gas storage sites remains healthy.
'I do think this goes to my point in opening, which is that we should be working together on these issues,' the Energy Secretary stated. 'I think there are people who want to try to mislead about events that happen and use them for their own purposes. Frankly, that is completely irresponsible.'
Addressing High-Price Capacity Payments
When questioned about specific high prices paid for capacity at a particular moment, Miliband declined to speculate. He noted that regulators Ofgem and NESO would be examining the incident, as is standard procedure.
He acknowledged that a higher price was paid for some capacity in 2022, suggesting such market events are not entirely unprecedented. However, he stressed that 'that is not to say that one should be complacent about these issues', confirming Ofgem would investigate.
The Strategic Need for Gas in a Clean Power System
Concluding his remarks, Mr Miliband connected the discussion to the broader context of energy bills and system resilience. He referenced the party's manifesto and advice from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), emphasising that a future clean power system would still require a strategic reserve of gas.
'The key question is not the overall capacity of that system—30-ish GW—but how often it is used,' he explained. This dispatchable power, which could be made low-carbon with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, remains a crucial backup option to ensure stability, alongside other alternatives.
The minister's forceful rebuttal aims to quash speculation and reinforce the government's commitment to a managed and secure transition to cleaner energy, while firmly denying any plans for the reported boiler levy.
