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 North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea ...

increasing. Following the privatisation of the energy industries in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, which had begun some ten years earlier, the department was abolished in 1992. Many of its functions were abandoned, with the remainder being absorbed into other bodies or departments. The

Office of Gas Supply , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ofgem logo.svg , logo_width = 124px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_wid ...

(Ofgas) and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) took over market regulation, the

Energy Efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

Office was transferred to the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

, and various media-related functions were transferred to the

Department of National Heritage , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

. 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. Work funded or part-funded by the department included investigations into Geothermal power and the

Severn Barrage The Severn Barrage is any of a range of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary. Ideas for damming or barraging the Severn estuary (and Bristol Channel) have existed since the 19t ...

Brean Down barrage plan unveiled by Welsh businessman
''Burnham-on-sea.com'', published 2006-03-04, accessed 2007-03-22.

Ministers

Secretary of State for Energy

Colour key (for political parties):
''Politicians'': Junior ministers included

Peter Morrison Sir Peter Hugh Morrison (2 June 1944 – 13 July 1995) was a British Conservative politician, MP for Chester from 1974 to 1992, and Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Background and education Morrison ...

(Minister of State in 1987) and

Patrick Jenkin Charles Patrick Fleeming Jenkin, Baron Jenkin of Roding, (7 September 1926 – 20 December 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as a cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher's first government. Life and career Jenkin w ...

Earlier and later ministries

Although only formed in 1974, the Department of Energy was not the first ministry to handle energy-related matters. The

Ministry of Fuel and Power The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy. The Ministry of Power (then named Ministry of Fuel and Power) was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. ...

was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. It took charge of coal production, allocation of supplies of fuels, control of energy prices and petrol

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Ministry of Fuel and Power was renamed the Ministry of Power in January 1957. The Ministry of Power later became part of the

Ministry of Technology The Ministry of Technology was a department of the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as "MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilson's am ...

on 6 October 1969, which merged into the Department of Trade and Industry on 20 October 1970. The post of Secretary of State for Energy was re-created in 2008 as the

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was a British government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown ...

References

{{reflist

External links

History of the Department of Energy

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

Department of Energy and Climate Change Ministries established in 1974 1974 establishments in the United Kingdom 1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct environmental agencies Energy ministries Energy in the United Kingdom

Ministers

Secretary of State for Energy

Earlier and later ministries

See also

References

External links