Andrew Sissons
@acjsissons.bsky.social
Day job: climate change, heat pumps, energy at Nesta
Other stuff: low-fi economics on growth, cities & economic geography, general UK policy, occasional basic charts
Bristol, he/him, lots of parenting / caring.
Personal account.
Other stuff: low-fi economics on growth, cities & economic geography, general UK policy, occasional basic charts
Bristol, he/him, lots of parenting / caring.
Personal account.
Pinned
Andrew Sissons
@acjsissons.bsky.social
· Nov 17
Delighted to publish this personal essay by me and John: Getting Britain out of the hole.
We wanted to write something quite readable that covers the big picture of the UK’s economic struggles. Hopefully we’ve managed at least one of those!
@johnspringford.bsky.social
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
We wanted to write something quite readable that covers the big picture of the UK’s economic struggles. Hopefully we’ve managed at least one of those!
@johnspringford.bsky.social
getting-out-of-the-hole.uk
One way or another, the Treasury is probably going to have to take further action on electricity bills. Full set of choices here!
The energy edit: Lessons from the offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan | Andrew Sissons
I'm starting a Nesta newsletter called the Energy Edit: here's the first edition!
It's a reflection on the AR7 offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan, which will be two of the year's most impo...
www.linkedin.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:24 AM
One way or another, the Treasury is probably going to have to take further action on electricity bills. Full set of choices here!
Boosting uptake of EVs and heat pumps will increase demand (and lower long term bills).
But we're caught in a trap: expensive electricity now makes those technologies less attractive. And for all the good stuff in the Warm Homes Plan, it had no further action on electricity costs...
But we're caught in a trap: expensive electricity now makes those technologies less attractive. And for all the good stuff in the Warm Homes Plan, it had no further action on electricity costs...
February 3, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Boosting uptake of EVs and heat pumps will increase demand (and lower long term bills).
But we're caught in a trap: expensive electricity now makes those technologies less attractive. And for all the good stuff in the Warm Homes Plan, it had no further action on electricity costs...
But we're caught in a trap: expensive electricity now makes those technologies less attractive. And for all the good stuff in the Warm Homes Plan, it had no further action on electricity costs...
Third, we need much more emphasis on increasing the *demand* for electricity.
Part of our problem is that we are investing for a much bigger electricity system - but demand for electricity is still falling, which spreads those investment costs over fewer units of power, raising costs.
Part of our problem is that we are investing for a much bigger electricity system - but demand for electricity is still falling, which spreads those investment costs over fewer units of power, raising costs.
February 3, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Third, we need much more emphasis on increasing the *demand* for electricity.
Part of our problem is that we are investing for a much bigger electricity system - but demand for electricity is still falling, which spreads those investment costs over fewer units of power, raising costs.
Part of our problem is that we are investing for a much bigger electricity system - but demand for electricity is still falling, which spreads those investment costs over fewer units of power, raising costs.
Second, that means we need to look elsewhere to reduce bills.
There are plenty of candidates, including:
- Onshore wind and solar (still cheap!)
- Lowering the cost of capital
- Using government borrowing to spread investment costs over time
- Further levy removal
There are plenty of candidates, including:
- Onshore wind and solar (still cheap!)
- Lowering the cost of capital
- Using government borrowing to spread investment costs over time
- Further levy removal
February 3, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Second, that means we need to look elsewhere to reduce bills.
There are plenty of candidates, including:
- Onshore wind and solar (still cheap!)
- Lowering the cost of capital
- Using government borrowing to spread investment costs over time
- Further levy removal
There are plenty of candidates, including:
- Onshore wind and solar (still cheap!)
- Lowering the cost of capital
- Using government borrowing to spread investment costs over time
- Further levy removal
Circling back on this... there are three main points in my piece.
First, the rise in price at AR7 is important, and it's now at the level where offshore wind probably isn't lowering electricity bills much. Just building more offshore wind is probably no longer a route to lower energy bills
First, the rise in price at AR7 is important, and it's now at the level where offshore wind probably isn't lowering electricity bills much. Just building more offshore wind is probably no longer a route to lower energy bills
February 3, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Circling back on this... there are three main points in my piece.
First, the rise in price at AR7 is important, and it's now at the level where offshore wind probably isn't lowering electricity bills much. Just building more offshore wind is probably no longer a route to lower energy bills
First, the rise in price at AR7 is important, and it's now at the level where offshore wind probably isn't lowering electricity bills much. Just building more offshore wind is probably no longer a route to lower energy bills
Oh! I'm starting a Nesta newsletter called The Energy Edit.
Here's the first edition, looking at the big offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan and asking what they mean for energy bills.
In short: more offshore wind is no longer an easy fix to reduce bills
www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...
Here's the first edition, looking at the big offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan and asking what they mean for energy bills.
In short: more offshore wind is no longer an easy fix to reduce bills
www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...
February 2, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Oh! I'm starting a Nesta newsletter called The Energy Edit.
Here's the first edition, looking at the big offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan and asking what they mean for energy bills.
In short: more offshore wind is no longer an easy fix to reduce bills
www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...
Here's the first edition, looking at the big offshore wind auction and the Warm Homes Plan and asking what they mean for energy bills.
In short: more offshore wind is no longer an easy fix to reduce bills
www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...
Credit to Neil Kaye!
February 1, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Credit to Neil Kaye!
Putting you down as a February convert
February 1, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Putting you down as a February convert
Oh dear - this is awful news for cricket and beyond
February 1, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Oh dear - this is awful news for cricket and beyond
Well… this glorious first day of Feb has turned into the greyest, drizzliest day imaginable. I’ll have to bookmark this to show how far we’ve come by the 28th
- hopefully.
(Fwiw, the sky was pretty clear apart from boiler flue smoke this morning)
- hopefully.
(Fwiw, the sky was pretty clear apart from boiler flue smoke this morning)
February 1, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Well… this glorious first day of Feb has turned into the greyest, drizzliest day imaginable. I’ll have to bookmark this to show how far we’ve come by the 28th
- hopefully.
(Fwiw, the sky was pretty clear apart from boiler flue smoke this morning)
- hopefully.
(Fwiw, the sky was pretty clear apart from boiler flue smoke this morning)
I love March. That’s Just think the hopeful signs are there in Feb if you look for them
February 1, 2026 at 10:21 AM
I love March. That’s Just think the hopeful signs are there in Feb if you look for them
I spent a bit of time last year trying to grasp the intuition of this, but don’t think it sank in.
The path of the sun relative to the earth each day is a sine wave, and I think it follows the same logic
The path of the sun relative to the earth each day is a sine wave, and I think it follows the same logic
February 1, 2026 at 9:49 AM
I spent a bit of time last year trying to grasp the intuition of this, but don’t think it sank in.
The path of the sun relative to the earth each day is a sine wave, and I think it follows the same logic
The path of the sun relative to the earth each day is a sine wave, and I think it follows the same logic
Yes, this is the one tinge of sadness for me. But we have to live with the climate we have!
February 1, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Yes, this is the one tinge of sadness for me. But we have to live with the climate we have!
Reposted by Andrew Sissons
February is the BEST in terms of how the days get longer as a proportion of the actual length of day.We gain more minutes per day in March, but the days are longer then anyway so who cares...
(Sorry for the terrible graph)
(Sorry for the terrible graph)
February 1, 2026 at 9:23 AM
February is the BEST in terms of how the days get longer as a proportion of the actual length of day.We gain more minutes per day in March, but the days are longer then anyway so who cares...
(Sorry for the terrible graph)
(Sorry for the terrible graph)
Reposted by Andrew Sissons
New personal piece: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…
The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…
Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
It has become a common complaint that regulators in the UK are toothless and ineffective. Unable to keep up with the pace of the internet…
acjsissons.medium.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:36 AM
New personal piece: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…
The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…
The other thing about #BigFebruary is that you can see the birds in the trees. Every blue tit, every crocus is a bit more special in Feb because it has the stage to itself (and because you had to wait so long for it)
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 AM
The other thing about #BigFebruary is that you can see the birds in the trees. Every blue tit, every crocus is a bit more special in Feb because it has the stage to itself (and because you had to wait so long for it)
That means you go from sunrise just before 8am and sunset before 5 now… to sunrise before 7 and sunset just before 6 at the end of Feb.
A decent chance of both waking up and heading home from work in the light
A decent chance of both waking up and heading home from work in the light
February 1, 2026 at 8:44 AM
That means you go from sunrise just before 8am and sunset before 5 now… to sunrise before 7 and sunset just before 6 at the end of Feb.
A decent chance of both waking up and heading home from work in the light
A decent chance of both waking up and heading home from work in the light
A quick reminder of what #BigFebruary is about…
Thanks to the magic of the cosmos, we start gaining daylight much faster in Feb than in Jan. Over 20 mins a week - setting us up for Spring.
This chart is by @neilrkaye.bsky.social and is one of my all time favourites.
Thanks to the magic of the cosmos, we start gaining daylight much faster in Feb than in Jan. Over 20 mins a week - setting us up for Spring.
This chart is by @neilrkaye.bsky.social and is one of my all time favourites.
February 1, 2026 at 8:33 AM
A quick reminder of what #BigFebruary is about…
Thanks to the magic of the cosmos, we start gaining daylight much faster in Feb than in Jan. Over 20 mins a week - setting us up for Spring.
This chart is by @neilrkaye.bsky.social and is one of my all time favourites.
Thanks to the magic of the cosmos, we start gaining daylight much faster in Feb than in Jan. Over 20 mins a week - setting us up for Spring.
This chart is by @neilrkaye.bsky.social and is one of my all time favourites.
Happy February!
Welcome to most underrated and fastest improving month. You start in the depths of winter and end waking up in the light to the sound of birds singing, to the sight of snowdrops, daffodils and early blossom in the trees
#BigFebruary
Welcome to most underrated and fastest improving month. You start in the depths of winter and end waking up in the light to the sound of birds singing, to the sight of snowdrops, daffodils and early blossom in the trees
#BigFebruary
February 1, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Happy February!
Welcome to most underrated and fastest improving month. You start in the depths of winter and end waking up in the light to the sound of birds singing, to the sight of snowdrops, daffodils and early blossom in the trees
#BigFebruary
Welcome to most underrated and fastest improving month. You start in the depths of winter and end waking up in the light to the sound of birds singing, to the sight of snowdrops, daffodils and early blossom in the trees
#BigFebruary
Excited for the launch of this year’s Big February tomorrow.
It’s been a pretty miserable January. But to be fair to it, when the skies are clear, the light is wonderful
It’s been a pretty miserable January. But to be fair to it, when the skies are clear, the light is wonderful
January 31, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Excited for the launch of this year’s Big February tomorrow.
It’s been a pretty miserable January. But to be fair to it, when the skies are clear, the light is wonderful
It’s been a pretty miserable January. But to be fair to it, when the skies are clear, the light is wonderful
Weekend plug for my new personal post: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
Sometimes regulators are just useless, but more often the problem is that governments don’t give them the tools or the powers to deter bad behaviour
Sometimes regulators are just useless, but more often the problem is that governments don’t give them the tools or the powers to deter bad behaviour
Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
A sewage outfall pipe in the River Solway, Cumbria, with (probably) a regulator in the background. Photo by John Collins
acjsissons.medium.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Weekend plug for my new personal post: Why does regulation often feel so toothless?
Sometimes regulators are just useless, but more often the problem is that governments don’t give them the tools or the powers to deter bad behaviour
Sometimes regulators are just useless, but more often the problem is that governments don’t give them the tools or the powers to deter bad behaviour