EDF UK chief executive Simone Rossi has called for a fundamental shift in Britain’s energy strategy, arguing that greater electrification is essential to making better use of the country’s growing renewable generation capacity, reducing energy costs and improving energy security.
Speaking at Cornwall Insight’s CI Live 2026 conference, Rossi warned that the UK has invested heavily in electricity infrastructure over the past two decades, despite electricity consumption falling over the same period.
His central message was that Britain must move beyond simply decarbonising electricity generation and focus on replacing fossil fuel consumption with domestically produced electricity.
Rossi began by examining the evolution of Britain’s energy consumption since 1970, highlighting the dramatic changes in the country’s energy mix and its growing reliance on imports.
During the 1980s and 1990s, North Sea oil and gas production transformed the UK into a major energy producer and exporter. However, declining domestic fossil fuel production has since reversed that position, leaving Britain increasingly dependent on imported energy.
According to Rossi, the UK now imports more than 40% of its energy requirements.
Perhaps more surprisingly, he highlighted how total primary energy consumption has fallen by approximately 1,000TWh since its peak in 2005, despite the economy growing by around 30% in real terms and the population increasing by approximately 15%.
He attributed this decline principally to two factors: the reduction in energy-intensive industrial activity and significant improvements in energy efficiency.
While these developments have reduced overall consumption, they have not fundamentally eliminated Britain’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Electricity investment without demand growth
Rossi argued that the UK’s electricity system is facing a growing economic challenge.
Between 2010 and 2030, electricity generation capacity is expected to approximately double, from around 80GW to 160GW, driven largely by investment in renewable and other low-carbon technologies.
However, electricity demand has remained relatively flat or declined, creating a mismatch between infrastructure investment and consumption.
Renewable generation may benefit from free natural resources such as wind and sunlight, but the infrastructure required to harness them carries substantial fixed costs.
These extend beyond generation assets to include grid connections, transmission and distribution upgrades, and energy storage.
Ultimately, Rossi argued, these costs must be recovered from electricity consumers.
With investment increasing faster than demand, the cost burden risks being spread across a relatively static volume of electricity consumption, placing further upward pressure on bills.
His argument was that Britain should concentrate on making better use of the infrastructure it is already building, rather than continuing to focus predominantly on decarbonising electricity supply.
Electrification offers a route forward
Transport represents one of the clearest opportunities.
Rossi contrasted the running costs of diesel vehicles with electric alternatives, suggesting that a conventional diesel car could cost approximately 20p per mile in fuel, compared with potentially just 2p per mile for an electric vehicle charged using low-cost overnight electricity.
With around two million electric vehicles currently on UK roads, he suggested there was substantial scope for further growth.
He explored a scenario involving 20 million electric vehicles, alongside significantly greater deployment of heat pumps and expansion of electricity-intensive sectors such as data centres.
Heat pumps were another important part of his argument, although Rossi acknowledged that their relatively high upfront costs present a greater barrier to adoption than electric vehicles.
He highlighted their efficiency advantage over gas boilers, with heat pumps capable of delivering equivalent heating output using substantially less energy.
Taken together, these developments could increase annual UK electricity demand by approximately 80TWh, bringing consumption closer to levels last seen two decades ago.
Rather than requiring an entirely new scale of electricity consumption, Rossi suggested that greater electrification could help Britain return to historical demand levels while making much more productive use of its expanding generation infrastructure.
A question of energy security
Beyond the economic case, Rossi emphasised the strategic advantages of electrification.
By replacing imported oil and gas with domestically generated electricity, Britain could reduce its exposure to international energy markets and strengthen its energy independence.
He pointed to the UK’s natural advantages, particularly its wind resources, alongside its established nuclear industry and engineering expertise.
Greater electrification would also improve overall energy efficiency, reduce emissions and potentially lower system costs by spreading fixed infrastructure expenditure across higher electricity consumption.
The challenge, Rossi suggested, is therefore not simply to build more low-carbon generation, but to ensure that businesses and households have compelling reasons to use it.
His conclusion was that an increasingly electrified Britain could deliver benefits extending well beyond decarbonisation, supporting economic competitiveness, energy security and more affordable energy for consumers.
