Green Energy
The amount set aside for ‘environmental and social supplier obligations’
Mark Todd, director of independent price comparison service Energyhelpline.com, said: “Rather than helping to push prices down, we calculate that Government policies are actually pushing bills up by at least £2 billion a year. There is also a big risk they are making UK industry uncompetitive and forcing jobs to go overseas to countries where energy is cheaper.
With a series of extra charges in the pipeline, consumers are being warned that they could face bill hikes of 50-100% by 2020.
They include:
- The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target is added on to every bill, and forms part of the£91.10 a year on the typical bill. The CERT is an obligation on the six largest energy suppliers to promote energy efficiency measures to households to reduce CO2 emissions
- The Energy Company Obligation will replace the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target from next year – Energy companies are expected to need to pay £1.3bn a year towards energy saving initiatives in the home to meet these obligations though the costs could be more or less.
- Carbon Price Floor - Businesses are due to be hit even harder with green energy taxes. From April 1, 2013, carbon emissions in the UK from electricity generators and energy intensive industry will face tax increases from £7 per tonne to £16 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted. This will rise to £30 per tonne in 2020, meaningthat UK businesses can expect to pay 280 times more than competitors in the US or Russia. These costs indirectly passed to the public in the form of higher prices of consumer goods.
- The Government’s Draft Energy Bill has been predicted by MPs push up bills as it funds £110bn of investment in power generation. MPS have claimed that this could add £110 a year on to the average energy bill [official citation needed]
- George Osborne’s 2011-12 tax raid on UK oil and gas extraction has stifled production losing£2.3bn in taxes and almost certainly pushing up wholesale oil and gas prices in the UK. Low wholesale gas prices are key to getting low domestic gas prices.
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Todd, from Energyhelpline.com, says the concerns of the customer need to be taken into account: “Government bodies need to think about the effects these new policies will have on consumers. It is likely that increases such as these will push more households over the line into fuel poverty.
“In these times of austerity the last thing hard-pressed consumers need is even higher energy bills pushed up by stealth taxes.”
Consumers are strongly advised to take all measures to keep their domestic fuel prices down. One of the easiest ways to save money is to compare their current suppliers with others that are available.
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