I dislike the notion of "auctioning off" bits and pieces of the strategic infrastructure - to anyone.

It's not a strategic loss if it's European partner companies that buy it up, though. The whole point of an EU level energy supply guarantee would be that the British government is incapable of planning ahead, and is dependent on the expertise of foreign companies and governments to sort out its own mess.

That can best be done by giving up the remaining unprivatised part of its assets to those foreign companies, since 1) it would lower the bariers to entry into the British market, 2) it would guarantee no misplaced political meddling into what must be done over many years to guarantee energy supply for the British public, and 3) it would actually offer a real incentive to those foreign firms to adapt their current energy distribution plans.

I'd prefer having a joint, multilateral operation - possibly at the EU level. There'll be a limit to how much the Brits could screw it up, because the countries that have so far behaved more or less responsibly would remain in the majority.

But where's the beef? Why should EU energy companies, often government owned, agree to such a thing? They have their own mandates, which require serving their own citizens first.

The ones in trouble are the Brits. It's up to them to offer something tangible in return for getting their balls out of the fire. What have the Brits done lately for the EU? What can they pay to solve their energy woes?

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