Fears continue to surround the link between green energy measures and an ‘astronomical’ rise in household energy bills. However, according to a new report from the Government’s climate advisers, renewable energy will not be responsible for adding the huge amounts people seem to think.
In a report out today, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has revealed that by the end of the decade household energy bills will increase by £190. But the report has rejected continuing fears that green measures – set to be implemented as part of an overhaul of the UK’s energy system – will see bills sky rocket by astronomical proportions.
According to the analysis by the Government’s official climate change advisers, charges set to be made on future energy bills for energy efficiency schemes and renewable energy generation will contribute around £110 of the increase. However, if would be even less if home owners were to implement a range of energy efficiency home improvements, such as fitting cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. So much so, the Committee has calculated that the rise could be reduced to just £25.
With various reports doing the rounds claiming that financing low carbon investments will cause energy bills to rise by shocking figures – up to £3,000 by 2020; a huge increase up from £1,060 for an average home’s gas and electricity usage in 2010.
“There have been claims that there will be astronomical bill rises in the next decade due to low-carbon policies,” commented chief executive of the CCC, David Kennedy. “Our analysis disproves this.”
Adding weight to the report, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change said some campaign groups had made a “concerted effort to completely mislead the public into believing that green taxes have been the main cause of rises in fuel bills.”
Commenting on the report, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) agreed that the CCC’s analysis was correct in terms of past bill increases being primarily due to a rise in the costs of wholesale gas. The CCC found that between 2004 and 2010, electricity and gas bills rose by £455, and that a whopping 84% of this rise was down to the sky rocketing cost of gas on international markets.
An independent body, the Committee on Climate Change advises the Government on issues relating to setting and meeting carbon budgets.
To read the report in full, visit www.theccc.org.uk
