Why am I Paying So Much Just to Drive to Work?

A regular reader of COGNEWS commented to me that the Iran war has cost her more to fill up her car this week. She tried to fill up with regular diesel, but there was none. So she had to fill up with premium, costing £1.89 per litre. Because she is on a budget, she was limited to just £20 for the top-up—a mere 10.5 litres, barely enough to get to work and back for a few days. What can be done about the high energy costs we are experiencing now?

Our government has put a cap on the energy that we use in our homes. But is there anything else that can be done?

Opening the North Sea Oil & Gas Wells

Some residents have told me that we should open up more oil and gas wells in the North Sea, so let’s look at that. The reserves amount to just 0.7% of the world’s supply of oil and gas, and as these fields would be operated by multinational oil companies, they would not make much difference to the oil price set by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).

What about Norway?

They have gained quite well out of selling oil and gas. That is because they had a state-owned oil company, Statoil, which changed its name to Equinor a few years ago, when the company started to move into renewables. Britain does not have the appetite to nationalise the water industry, let alone finance a multibillion state-owned oil company.

Let’s look at the figures

The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 caused a high spike in oil and gas prices; now we see another spike. We have installed more wind and solar renewables since 2022, and this type of energy is not as volatile as oil and gas. Also, one in five motor cars sold are electrically powered, and that has reduced the number of barrels of oil we have to import. Most electric vehicle owners charge their cars overnight when wind turbines are still turning, and the energy would have been lost if it wasn’t for EVs. Thanks to renewables, this energy can be sold at a bargain-basement price overnight to these customers.

What can I do?

Lobbying your MP to build more wind farms will help. You see, 70% of our energy is generated by fossil fuels. If we move to non-volatile means of generation, then costs will go down. Presently, our electricity prices are high because energy is linked to the price per therm of gas. But as the supply of electricity moves closer to 50% by using renewables, that will help drive down the price of gas, as renewables become the energy driver, replacing a system based on gas.

You might not be able to buy an electric vehicle or have solar panels, but convincing a rich uncle to buy this technology will mean there’s more cheap oil for you to burn as the supply and demand ratio changes.

Climate change, noise, and pollution in our high street, or the fact that fossil fuels need to be used more wisely for medicine and plastics for the next generation, are also solid reasons for moving away from gas and oil.

Ethiopia banned petrol/diesel cars in 2024.

Why am I Paying So Much Just to Drive to Work? published 8th April 2026