New PM’s policy is cold comfort for green energy
The new Prime Minister was left with no alternative but to introduce a two-year £150 billion price freeze on energy bills, said Midlands green energy expert Ron Fox.
“But I am concerned there wasn’t more focus on achieving the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and improving energy efficiency,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd.
“Instead, we had moves to increasing domestic production by lifting the ban on fracking imposed in 2019 and by introducing more than 100 new licences to drill for more oil and gas from the North Sea, while was no mention of a windfall tax nor plans to expand green energy.”
Under Liz Truss’s new Energy Price Guarantee a typical UK household will save £1,000 on bills this winter and will still receive the £400 announced earlier this year while business energy costs will be capped for six months.
It will mean that for every pound a household spends on gas and electricity the government will pay about 75p in subsidy.
The energy price cap of £1,971 was due to rise to £3,549 from October 1 and as much as £5,000 in January 2023.
There will also be a fund for people who are off grid and rely on heating oil or those who would not benefit from the package.
The Department for Business said customers’ variable tariffs would be moved automatically to cheaper deals while those on fixed tariffs wouldn’t need to take any action to benefit from the scheme.
Liz Truss also announced that a task force would be set up to negotiate long-term contracts with gas suppliers below current market prices to bring down the cost of wholesale gas and electricity.
At the same time the Government will aim to reduce the amount paid to some renewable electricity generators who are making record profits because their price is set by the price of gas.
“The government has bought itself some breathing space,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science Innovation Park. “I only hope that this two-year price freeze will mean they will use the time to insulate millions of British homes, plant solar and wind farms across the county and install more heat pumps.”
He added that it would be interesting to see if the Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, will set out the estimated cost of plans to cap energy prices in his mini Budget this Friday.
Ron said he had agreed with a coalition of more than 100 environmental and faith groups who had written to the Prime Minister this month urging her to take strong action to tackle climate change, the energy crisis and the steep decline in the nation’s wildlife and habitats.
The letter said: “Our vision is for a country and a world where children walk to school breathing fresh air instead of dangerous fumes, and their parents think about the future with hope instead of fear.
“We want brilliant engineers, builders, farmers and local people across the UK to be supported to roll out the solutions to make our homes warmer, our transport cleaner and cheaper, and to restore our natural environment to once again be full of life. We want the UK to lead and invest in real climate action around the world.”
For more information about green energy and how to cut your carbon footprint, call Ron on 01782 756995.
Caption: New Prime Minister Liz Truss ‘needs to do more to tackle climate change.’ Picture: Wikipedia
