Energy secretary says government wants to focus on cutting taxes once inflation falls
Grant Shapps has suggested it is unlikely the government will step in to protect households from rising energy bills this winter.
The energy secretary said in an interview with the Times that once inflation had fallen the government would “absolutely” need to cut taxes.
Continue reading...Analysts call on government to make pumps mandatory for all new homes and scale up grants for installation in existing properties
The UK is lagging far behind France and other EU countries in installing heat pumps, research has shown, with less than a tenth of the number of installations despite having similar markets.
Only 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK last year, compared with more than 620,000 in France. Twenty other European countries also had higher installation rates than the UK.
Continue reading...Fatih Birol says China’s economic recovery combined with harsh winter could pile pressure on gas supplies
The head of the International Energy Agency has said energy prices may spike again this winter, forcing government to subsidise bills – just days after state support for UK households fell away.
Fatih Birol said a rapid improvement in the Chinese economy, coupled with a harsh winter, could put pressure on gas supplies and push up bills for consumers.
Continue reading...Report by cross-party MPs criticises previous ‘lack of urgency in addressing market failures’
MPs have urged the government to set out its plans to protect households from high energy bills this winter as they said about 1.7 million people, including some of the most vulnerable groups, had been left waiting too long to receive previous support.
The public accounts committee (PAC) said that although schemes were introduced quickly, the government “did not have the bandwidth” to make sure help reached all groups in a timely fashion.
Continue reading...But campaigners say it will not give much relief to struggling households as government support ends
Household energy bills could fall to an average of £2,053 a year this summer as the regulator prepares to lower its cap on energy prices next week, according to analysts.
However, campaigners have warned that the lower cap on energy bills, to be announced on Thursday, is unlikely to provide much relief to households that struggled to pay their bills over the winter because the government’s support schemes have come to an end.
Continue reading...E.ON Next, Octopus and Good Energy did not supply final bill on time to many households that had switched
Three energy suppliers have been made to pay compensation totalling £8m for failing to supply a final bill on time to more than 100,000 households that had switched provider.
The energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, said E.ON Next was ordered to pay £5.5m to almost 95,000 customers because it did not provide them with a final bill within six weeks of moving to another supplier, nor did it pay compensation for the delay within 10 days of the missed deadline.
Continue reading...Suppliers in Great Britain have agreed code banning them from installations in homes of over-85s
The energy secretary, Grant Shapps, has urged Ofgem to turn words “into action” to ensure new industry rules designed to protect vulnerable people from being forced on to prepayment meters are properly enforced.
The Guardian revealed on Monday that all energy suppliers in Great Britain had signed up to a code of conduct banning them from putting the meters in the homes of people aged 85 and over as well as those with severe health conditions.
Continue reading...Low-income household will spend on average £200 more on bills than last year, Which? warns
Some of the UK’s least well-off households could be left more than £200 worse-off on their energy bills this year because of reduced government support, the consumer body Which? has warned.
Joining calls made by other campaigners, it said the government urgently needed to introduce a “social tariff” for gas and electricity to protect the most financially vulnerable.
Continue reading...Campaigners unite with suppliers to call on ministers to give long-term help to struggling households
Ministers are under pressure to announce plans for a social tariff to help Britons struggling with their energy bills over the long term, after the government performed a U-turn on a planned cut to support for households.
On the morning of the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget speech, the government confirmed the energy price guarantee would continue at its current rate, which limits a typical annual household bill to £2,500. It is being extended from April, when it was due to expire, for a further three months until the end of June.
Continue reading...Treasury says move will save four million households £45 a year on their energy bills
Prepayment meter customers will no longer be charged more to receive their energy under reforms to be announced in the budget.
The chancellor is to end the “prepayment premium” from July, saving more than four million households £45 a year on their energy bills, according to the Treasury.
Continue reading...Demand for wood stoves is soaring in energy crisis despite research showing their harmful effects
Demand for wood-burning stoves, including in urban areas, has soared as households look for more affordable ways to stay warm during the energy crisis.
Campaigners have called for stricter legislation on their use because of their negative impact on air pollution and health, with wood burning in the UK gaining in popularity over the past decade.
Continue reading...Cost of living has made more than a third of adults reconsider cooking end of week meal, survey finds
More than a third of people in the UK have cut back on cooking Sunday roasts because of the soaring cost of energy bills, according to a survey.
A total of 36% of UK adults said the cost of living crisis had made them reconsider a homemade roast dinner at the end of the week. The figure was even higher among those aged 16 to 34, with nearly half (47%) saying they have avoided cookingroasts.
Continue reading...Chancellor’s comments follow call from consumer champion Martin Lewis to cancel the rise in the energy price cap
This morning the Daily Mail splashed on a story about AstraZeneca building a new factory that had been planned for the north-west of England in Ireland instead. Sir Pascal Soriot, the company’s chief executive, suggested the government’s plan to increase corporation tax was a key factor (although, as my colleague Nils Pratley reports in his analysis, other factors are relevant too). The Mail is one of the Tory papers pushing for tax cuts and it reports the story as evidence that supports its case.
Asked about the AstraZeneca decision, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, said today he was “disappointed” but that he would not implement tax cuts funded by borrowing. He told reporters:
We’re disappointed that we lost out this time and we agree with the fundamental case they’re making which is that we need our business taxation to be more competitive and we want to bring business taxes down.
But the only tax cuts we won’t consider are ones that are funded by borrowing because they’re not a real tax cut. They’re just passing on the bill to future generations.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt urged to reconsider raising state-subsidised energy rate from April as market prices make delay affordable
Jeremy Hunt must act now to reverse plans to raise energy bills from April, MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis has warned, saying the change cannot wait until the spring budget next month.
In a letter to the chancellor seen by the Guardian, Lewis warned more than 1.7m more households could be plunged into fuel poverty if he does not urgently commit to freezing energy prices.
Continue reading...Government plans to upgrade energy efficiency of homes will help only 5.8% of fuel poor households by 2030, campaign group claims
Greenpeace is threatening to take legal action against the government as it emerged a target to lift millions of struggling households out of fuel poverty is likely to be missed.
Government plans to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes will help fewer than 6% of fuel poor households by 2030, according to the environmental campaign group.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Looming auction to earmark £1.5bn to put power generators on standby and keep the lights on
The billionaire West Ham United investor Daniel Křetínský and Swiss commodities giant Vitol are among bidders hoping to land hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to keep the lights on in Great Britain.
National Grid’s electricity system operator is preparing to announce successful bidders in a “capacity market” auction this month for 2026.
Continue reading...Ofgem could look to take legal action if companies are not taking proper care of vulnerable households
Energy companies are to be investigated by the regulator Ofgem after the number of households struggling with their bills being forced on to prepayment meters has increased sharply.
Ofgem could consider taking legal action if it determines that the rise in the number of homes being forced on to prepayment meters is proven to show companies are not taking proper due care of vulnerable households.
Continue reading...Frontbencher to call for more help with energy bills for householders and to promise massive green power programme
Rachel Reeves has said she wants to be “Britain’s first green chancellor” ahead of a speech in which she will call on ministers to extend relief on energy bills and promise that Labour will reduce these in the longer term with a massive green power programme.
Addressing the Fabian Society conference on Saturday, the shadow chancellor is to argue that investment in renewable energies, plus a huge programme to retrofit insulation to homes – part of Labour’s flagship £28bn-a-year investment in climate measures – could save households up to £1,400 off annual bills each year.
Continue reading...Mild weather in Europe reduces gas demand but bills will remain higher than 2021 energy price cap
Annual energy bills are expected to fall to about £2,200 from July in a fillip for the government and households struggling with ballooning costs.
The energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has predicted that, excluding government subsidies, typical annual household energy bills will have fallen from £4,279 now to £3,208 from April, and then will ease to roughly £2,200 for the remainder of the year.
Continue reading...Charities and non-profit bodies urge Jeremy Hunt to introduce discount tariff from April 2024
Jeremy Hunt is facing calls for a “social energy tariff” providing cheaper gas and electricity for low income households to be introduced when government support ends next year.
In an open letter to the chancellor, 95 charities and non-profit organisations have urged the government to move quickly to legislate for a change in energy bills for “those in greatest need to ensure they are able to live in their homes comfortably”.
Continue reading...