Department of Energy (United Kingdom)

Not to be confused with the UK government department which existed between 2008 and 2016, the Department of Energy and Climate Change or the current UK government department, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Department of Energy
Department overview
Formed8 January 1974
Preceding Department
Dissolved11 April 1992
Superseding Department
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
Headquarters1, Victoria Street, London[1]
Ministers responsible

The Department of Energy was a department of the United Kingdom Government. The department was established in January 1974, when the responsibility for energy production was transferred away from the Department of Trade and Industry in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and with the importance of North Sea oil increasing.

Following the privatisation of the energy industries in the United Kingdom, which had begun some ten years earlier, the department was abolished in 1992.[2] Many of its functions were abandoned, with the remainder being absorbed into other bodies or departments. The Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas) and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) took over market regulation, the Energy Efficiency Office was transferred to the Department of the Environment, and various media-related functions were transferred to the Department of National Heritage. The core activities relating to UK energy policy were transferred back to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The Department of Energy was a significant source of funding for energy research, and for investigations into the potential for renewable energy technologies in the UK.[3] Work funded or part-funded by the department included investigations into Geothermal power and the Severn Barrage[4]

  1. ^ "New Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy swallows up DECC and BIS — full details and reaction - Civil Service World".
  2. ^ UK National Energy Policy and Energy Overview Archived 2007-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, Energy Trends, published 2002-06-04, accessed 2007-03-22.
  3. ^ Contribution of Renewable Energy Technologies to Future Energy Requirements (Abstract), D. H. Buckley-Golder, R. G. Derwent, K. F. Langley, J. F. Walker, A. V. Ward, JSTOR, accessed 2007-03-22.
  4. ^ Brean Down barrage plan unveiled by Welsh businessman, Burnham-on-sea.com, published 2006-03-04, accessed 2007-03-22.