Ministers announced on Tuesday that plans to tackle climate change could add £277 to household fuel bills each year unless people undertake green improvements on their homes. Chris Huhne, the Energy and Climate Change Minister, stated that the huge increase in the number of wind farms and clean coal power stations across the country will mean that electricity and gas prices shoot up.

However, Mr. Huhne said that these price increases will be countered by the government plans to increase the energy efficiency of millions of homes across the UK. `The Department of Energy and Climate Change has also said that this move towards a green economy will cause electricity prices to rise by 33 per cent and gas prices to rise by 18 per cent.

The current average gas bill for houses in the UK is £620 and electricity is £500 but these rises would mean that these could rise to £732 and £665, a £277 increase. Despite the government saying that ‘green makeovers’ could offset these enlarged costs, many consumer groups have warned that many families and the elderly who can’t afford double glazing, insulation or new boilers could be adversely affected.

In his first annual energy statement on Tuesday, Mr. Huhne also said that the first of a new generation of nuclear power stations would be built by 2018 and price rises will pay for ten thousand on and offshore wind turbines. He also said the government’s ‘green deal’ where millions of homes will get insulation, double glazing, new boilers and draught excluders would reduce the demand for energy. This would counter the price increases, meaning domestic fuel bills would only got up by 1 per cent and business bills would rise by 26 per cent. 

Author:  Thomas Davies

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