If it wasn’t so ridiculous and maddening, one would question the sanity not only of those who introduced such a policy, but those that continue to believe it makes ongoing sense.

The Energy Profits Levy aka The Windfall Tax. A ridiculous blunt instrument meant to assist the UK Government in its direst hour of need and help alleviate the pain consumers face amid spiralling energy costs.

It aimed to bring in £5 billion over the course of its first year, a not inconsiderable sum that was welcomed by worried consumers struggling to pay their bills. But what politicians failed to tell the UK public – as they were whipped into a frenzy around the significant profits enjoyed by oil and gas producers – was the price we were paying to keep the lights on.

£117 billion in imported oil and gas supplies in 2022 alone.

That’s £117 billion the UK paid out to import enough oil and gas to keep us warm and working – double the figure of the year before, and a figure expected to increase further in the coming years.

Where is the sense in that? And just think: who ultimately pays for that?

So, instead of working with the energy sector to increase production of domestic oil and gas supplies (while encouraging them to continue to invest in alternative fuel sources), we wallop them with a huge 75% tax rate on domestic profits and expect them to keep investing.

Why wouldn’t we want them to be the most carbon-efficient production model in the world and still bring in huge sums in tax receipts to the Treasury? How much damage to those long-term tax receipts is the EPL doing?

And why are we conveniently ignoring the carbon footprint of those huge volumes of hydrocarbon imports while putting more and more pressure on domestic producers to reduce their emissions?

But it goes beyond that.

Remember: oil and gas make up three-quarters of our current energy requirements in the UK – and that’s not likely to change dramatically any time soon.

How long before those energy producers pack up and go where the regime is more stable, the tax implications more sensible and the opportunities more appealing?

I’ve lost count of the number of energy and energy-related firms that have said they are seriously considering their future in the UK.

How much longer will we be able to keep the skills and workers necessary to keep the current lights on while making the measured and sensible shift to alternative fuel sources?

The incentive to go elsewhere in a global market is very strong in the face of such naïve and ‘bury-your-head-in-the-sand’ politicking.

Let’s hope the UK Government – starting tomorrow – begins to see sense and offer stability and a rational tax policy that makes the UKCS a viable and commercial investment proposal both to keep the lights on today and to help find new ways of doing so tomorrow.