Department of Energy (United Kingdom)

Department of Energy
Department overview
Formed	8 January 1974
Preceding Department	Department of Trade and Industry;
Dissolved	11 April 1992
Superseding Department	Department of Trade and Industry (energy policy); Office of Gas Supply (gas market regulation); Office of Electricity Regulation (electricity market regulation); Department of the Environment (conservation and climate change);
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	1, Victoria Street, London
Ministers responsible	Lord Carrington, Secretary of State of Energy (first); John Wakeham, Secretary of State of Energy (last);

The Department of Energy was a department of the United Kingdom Government. The department was established in January 1974, when the responsibility for energy production was transferred away from the Department of Trade and Industry in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis and with the importance of North Sea oil increasing.

Following the privatisation of the energy industries in the United Kingdom, which had begun some ten years earlier, the department was abolished in 1992.^[2] Many of its functions were abandoned, with the remainder being absorbed into other bodies or departments. The Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas) and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) took over market regulation, the Energy Efficiency Office was transferred to the Department of the Environment, and various media-related functions were transferred to the Department of National Heritage. The core activities relating to UK energy policy were transferred back to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The Department of Energy was a significant source of funding for energy research, and for investigations into the potential for renewable energy technologies in the UK.^[3] Work funded or part-funded by the department included investigations into Geothermal power and the Severn Barrage^[4]

Ministers

Secretary of State for Energy

Colour key (for political parties):
Politicians: Conservative Labour

Name		Term of office		Political party
	Lord Carrington	8 January 1974	4 March 1974	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Eric Varley	5 March 1974	10 June 1975	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Tony Benn	10 June 1975	4 May 1979	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Tony Benn	10 June 1975	4 May 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	David Howell	5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Nigel Lawson	14 September 1981	11 June 1983	Conservative
	Peter Walker	11 June 1983	13 June 1987	Conservative
	Cecil Parkinson	13 June 1987	24 July 1989	Conservative
	John Wakeham	24 July 1989	11 April 1992	Conservative
	John Wakeham	24 July 1989	11 April 1992	Conservative	John Major
Department abolished 1992. Functions transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Junior ministers included Peter Morrison (Minister of State in 1987) and Patrick Jenkin.

Earlier and later ministries

Although only formed in 1974, the Department of Energy was not the first ministry to handle energy-related matters. The Ministry of Fuel and Power was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. It took charge of coal production, allocation of supplies of fuels, control of energy prices and petrol rationing during World War II.

The Ministry of Fuel and Power was renamed the Ministry of Power in January 1957. The Ministry of Power later became part of the Ministry of Technology on 6 October 1969, which merged into the Department of Trade and Industry on 20 October 1970.

The post of Secretary of State for Energy was re-created in 2008 as the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.