GMB has welcomed Centrica's announcement that it will create 4,000 new jobs, as part of the development of gas fields, as shot in the arm for the economy and energy sector as Chancellor George Osborne pledged hundreds of millions of pounds of tax breaks to encourage more drilling for gas off the coast of Britain.

GMB's energy policy calls for a mixed provision and argues that gas is the fuel that will power Britain for decades to give time for new nuclear facilities to be built.

The vast majority of UK homes are heated using gas. They use gas to cook with too. A unit of electricity is about 4 times the cost of the equivalent unit of gas and therefore the suggestion by the government committee on climate change and others than households would migrate to so called "clean electricity" was always nonsense.

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GMB also welcomed the announcement by Centrica that they will start developing new gas fields in the North Sea following tax breaks announced by government. GMB believes that the creation of 4,000 new jobs in developing the gas fields is a shot in the arm for the economy and energy sector.

Gary Smith GMB National Secretary said: "GMB welcomes the fact government is facing up to the reality that gas is the UK fuel of the future and the creation of thousands of jobs by Centrica.

"The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announcement that gas should pay a significant part in UK electricity generation beyond 2030 sees the government finally catching up with GMB.

"It was always a nonsense to suggest that UK homes would be able to absorb the huge cost of installing electric heating and cooking whilst seeing their bills go up more than fourfold as a result. Gas is the fuel of the future and Centrica's announcement about investment in the sector is great news. We desperately need these skilled jobs."

(CD/GK)