Sunak urged to hand uk 'no-regrets' solution to save britons' boilers

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been urged by experts from the energy industry to publish a consultation that would help the UK's boiler industry manufacture hydrogen-ready gas boilers,

as the UK scrambles to end its reliance on expensive natural gas. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has European countries into boosting their energy security, particularly as the cost of

wholesale gas skyrocketed in the past year. The UK in particular was badly hit by the price increase, as the country is heavily dependent on gas for heating. To end this reliance on natural

gas, many experts have called on the UK to phase out gas boilers for energy-efficient heat pumps, which use electricity. However, heat pumps can be prohibitively expensive for many

households, with the average price of the technology being around £13,000. As a result, experts like Mike Foster from the Energy and Utilities Alliance have called on the Government to focus

its efforts on developing hydrogen as a viable alternative to natural gas, which could eventually be pumped into the UK gas networks, and flow into household boilers. Speaking to

Express.co.uk, he said: "Firstly, what the new prime minister has to do is to deliver on what was promised by previous prime ministers as part of government policy to get us to net

zero, so we don't lose any more momentum. "The consultation on hydrogen-ready boilers was promised in the ten-point plan, we understand that it was ready to be launched in 2021,

and we have still not seen the consultation published by the Government. READ MORE: BIDEN TELLS SUNAK 'UK REMAINS AMERICA’S CLOSEST ALLY' IN FIRST CALL "Industry is now just

begging Government to just get on with it. It equips UK households with a boiler that can be converted into hydrogen should the Government wish to do that. "It would mean that the

overall cost of decarbonisation would be lower than it would otherwise. It's a real win, everybody wants it, and we're just waiting for the Government to publish the consultation

document. It really isn't difficult to do." He warned that any further delays could have consequences for British boilers manufacturers who have the ability to produce

hydrogen-ready boilers and are ready for the next stage, which is a higher volume rollout. He said: "If they think the Government is not serious, then they might find that they invest

in something else. So we don't see hydrogen-ready boilers made in the UK, they might be made elsewhere in the EU, and imported into the UK, which would be just nonsense." Another

major risk of not phasing out natural gas in time is that it might delay the UK's plans to reach its legally binding obligation to reach net zero by 2050.  Mr Foster said: "The

second great risk is that we push down the line the timetable required to meet our net-zero international obligation for 2050. "The sooner you can start the transition, the cheaper it

will be for everybody, so the other risks are that to hit those targets, it might cost us more to make the transition in a shorter period of time. "The longer the time we have to make

those adjustments, the sooner we can start, the cheaper net zero will be. If you wait for the last five years, you'll never afford it."