Ed Miliband has failed to make any progress on cutting household energy bills, the Climate Change Committee has warned, as it also called on ministers to curb the public’s use of air travel and ban new homes from using gas. The Telegraph has more.
The quango said in a damning new report that the Energy Secretary has not done enough to remove Net Zero levies from bills, which is making electricity too expensive.
This failure means the UK remains at risk of missing its 2030 clean power target, it said, as inflated energy costs deter consumers from switching to electric cars and heat pumps.
Its research found that green levies are adding £500 to heat pump running costs each year.
“The Government has made no clear progress on removing policy costs since the election,” the report said. “Making electricity cheaper remains our first recommendation.”
As part of its latest recommendations, the committee also called on ministers to curb emissions from Britain’s aviation sector and ban all new homes from connecting to the gas network.
“By far the most important recommendation we have for the Government is to reduce the cost of electricity, both for households and for businesses and industry as well,” said Professor Piers Forster, CCC chair.
“If we want the country to benefit from the transition to electrification, we have to see it reflected in the utility bills, and that is our biggest recommendation – one that we have yet to see this Government deliver.” …
Mr Miliband thanked the CCC and said: “The only way to get bills down for good is by becoming a clean-energy superpower and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver clean power for families and businesses.”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: The owner of one of Britain’s biggest chemical plants has said it will close, despite Keir Starmer’s just-launched Industrial Strategy. According to the Telegraph, “Saudi Aramco-owned Sabic said on Wednesday that it had decided to shut the Olefins 6 ‘cracker’ facility in Teesside permanently following a review of ‘competitiveness'”.
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