Energy Industries Club

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Background

The Energy Industries Club (EIC) is an energy industry body that keeps its membership secret. Its members are drawn from firms and companies in the field, including suppliers, major customers, oil and gas companies and nationalised industries.

Its website says that members meet over eight lunches a year, at the Naval and Military Club in St James Square, London. A "high profile guest speaker provides a brief presentation and opportunity for lively discussion" about "current and future challenges affecting the energy industry". The website adds: "To facilitate free discussion, meetings are private with no reporting of the proceedings."

Pro-nuclear lobbying

On March 15, 2005, the club organized a gathering of UK's top opinion formers – analysts, corporate traders and members of the media – to hear a speech by Mike Alexander, the Chief Executive of British Energy entitled "UK Nuclear Energy: fuel of the future?".

Committee

The following people are listed on the Club’s ‘Committee’ webpage:

President

• Mike Rolls

Past Presidents

• Louise Kingham
• Dr Jeff Chapman
• William Fortescue
• Dr Robert Hawley
• David Jefferies
• Michael Lodge
• David Porter, CEO of Association of Electricity Producers
• Dr Alf Roberts

Members

• David Green
• John Ingham
• Robert Lane
• Chris Murray
• Lawrence Slade
• David Smith
• Graham Ward

Secretary/Treasurer

• Steve Blackwell

Other Past Presidents

Other Past Presidents include Robert Evans and Archie Lamb REF NEEDED

Guest speakers

In 2012 and 2013, guest speakers have included:

• Tim Yeo MP, Chairman, DECC Select Committee
• Geoffrey Spence, CEO, Infrastructure UK
• Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State, Energy and Climate Change
• Tony Cocker, CEO, E.ON UK
• Basil Scarsella, CEO, UK Power Networks
• Ian Marchant, CEO, Scottish & Southern Energy
• Graham van’t Hoff, Chairman, Shell UK

In 2005/6, guest speakers included:

• Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP
• Vincent de Rivaz, CEO, EDF Energy
• Rt Hon Malcolm Wicks MP, Energy Minister
• Alistair Buchanan, CEO, Ofgem
• James Smith, Chairman Shell UK
• Bill Coley, CEO, British Energy
• Andreas Nauen, President, Siemens Wind, Denmark

A Complaint and Request To Remove From the Site

NuclearSpin has had a request from the EIC to remove its listing from the website. The page was first written in 2006 and and was then largely based on an article by Jonathan Leake and Dan Box in the New Statesman.

The EIC's Secretary and Treasurer, Steve Blackwell, says that the article is “garbage”. He argues that it "tried to imply that the Energy Industries Club is some sort of ‘secret society’ supporting nuclear". He adds: "It is nothing of the sort - purely one where people with an interest in energy meet over lunch with high level speakers from across the sector. Some members used to work in the sector and remain members even though they are retired. We have former Chairmen of the major energy companies who still attend occasionally”.

Blackwell says that the meeting to which Dan Box was invited by the EIG was conducted under Chatham House rules and therefore should not have been reported. He also points out that the membership list is not secret as such; it is just never given out to protect members.

Although the EIC says it is neither pro nor anti-nuclear, it may have pro-nuclear members. Blackwell, who has a history of working in the gas industry, argues that although he has no axe to grind either way on nuclear, if we are going to have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions then as Britain’s ageing nuclear power plants are decommissioned they are going to have to be replaced by new nuclear power plants.

The EIC set up a website in March 2012, upon which other information on this page is based.

Related Articles

• Jonathan Leake and Dan Box, The Nuclear Charm Offensive, New Statesman, May 23, 2005