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A new report, commissioned by 11 leading energy trade bodies, shows almost two-thirds (63%) of the public across the UK think clean power strengthens the UK’s security, which is held as a majority view across every political persuasion.
There is a clear appreciation of the impact of international events – such as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East – on rising energy bills. While bills remain the public’s top concern, there is strong support across all groups (age, political, gender) for fairly spreading investment costs over many years, rather than delaying them – even at the expense of lower bills now.
Watt Communities Want: Six Insights into UK Public Opinion on Energy sets out the views of 996 UK adults across all political voting intentions, who were surveyed between 23 March and 20 April 2026.
Undertaken by Early Studies, the polling uses two novel methods – social circle surveying and triple tense technique – and highlights six key insights from the data:
Using social circle surveying, which asks people what their friends, family and colleagues think about a topic, enables respondents to multi-select the views of their wider social circle, forming a picture of how the wider population feels.
The triple tense technique means respondents were asked what people think now, what they thought in 2020, and what they expect to think in 2030.
The results show that, although lowering energy bills remains the highest priority (72%), there is a clear understanding of the link between clean energy and energy security, and a call for investment rather than delay, with 50% wanting costs spread fairly, compared to 28% wishing to pay less now and incur greater costs later on.
When asked about excess renewable generation, most people supported energy storage (57%) to build more flexibility into our system, and there was high backing for grid upgrades (46%).
Fighting climate change is still important and ranks third of six options in 2026 (39%), rising to 49% in 2030 and ranking above energy security (44%) as what matters to people the most.
Of the seven options around our future energy needs, reducing air pollution ranked second in the national sample in 2026 (37%) and rose to be the top concern in 2030 (42%), although this varies by political affiliation.
More broadly, the results show a growing awareness of the way the energy system works, but there remain areas of profound misperception amongst the public, including a significant overestimation of energy supplier profits on bills, as well as an underestimation of how much of our power already comes from clean sources. There was also little understanding around what the Clean Power 2030 target actually means, with most people thinking the sector is aiming for 100% renewables, demonstrating a need for clearer communications from both the energy sector and Governments.
Charlotte Lee, HPA UK Chief Executive, commented:
“The polling clearly shows a growing public awareness of the need to move away from fossil fuels and invest in clean, homegrown power to strengthen the UK’s energy security, particularly in light of recent geopolitical events and sustained pressure on energy bills.
“There is a clear recognition that long-term investment, rather than short-term fixes, is the right approach. Electrifying heat through the accelerated deployment of proven, scalable technologies such as heat pumps will be central to this transition. It will reduce reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, support a more flexible and resilient energy system, and deliver high-quality, well-paid jobs across the UK in both installation and manufacturing.”
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