Energy Bill 2012 – NRFC calls for more urgency on energy efficiency

Responding to the publication of the Energy Bill, decease NRFC Chair, Hugh Goulbourne, has expressed concern about green tariffs being levied on vulnerable households and has called for more urgency from the Coalition Government on energy efficiency and the Energy Company Obligation.

The NRFC broadly welcomed the Government’s attempt to address the longer-term sustainability issues which exist in the UK energy market. However, given that people are already struggling to adequately heat their homes, we are concerned that the Energy Bill proposes changes in the levy system which could see increases of up to £100 per year in energy bills. The Energy Secretary suggests that this increase will be off-set by savings from measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy usage, but in a time of tight family budgets consumers need much more clarity on how the Government will be controlling the costs that are passed on to consumers. Any increases in the price of energy will disproportionately hit those consumers who will be the most vulnerable this winter.

Speaking from NRFC HQ in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, Hugh Goulbourne said “the hard working householders that we represent are confused as to why David Cameron and his Government have deserted them. Many of the people that I have spoken around the country this week are questioning why the Government has shifted the cost of green energy from big profitable companies to struggling families. We are calling on Energy Ministers to meet with us so that we can agree a timetable for implementing urgently needed measures to increase the energy efficiency of our homes and reduce energy tariffs for the most vulnerable homes”

This week the NRFC, who is a lead partner in the Energy Bill Revolution, wrote to every member of parliament calling on them to support the campaign to persuade the Coalition Government to heed the advice of its own financial advisers and invest in a wholesale energy efficiency programme for the UK.