Green Policies Blamed For Rising UK Electricity Prices: GWPF Calls For Inquiry

The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) today noted that Opus Energy has in the last week written to its customers increasing prices by 7.5% even to those on fixed term contracts, blaming increases in subsidies to renewables, and other related government energy and climate policies. [1]

Combined with a price increase in March 2017 for the same reasons, Opus has now had to increase its prices by about 11% within a year because of policy costs.[2]

This development confirms remarks made by Iain Conn, CEO of Centrica, in October last year, that energy policies are now responsible for a large part of the price of electricity, and that greater transparency was required from government. [3]

GWPF director Dr Benny Peiser said:

One after another, energy companies are beginning to break cover and blame poorly designed policies for increasing bills, not fundamental energy costs. Ministers must come clean about this. The government stopped publishing detailed price impact studies for its energy and climate policies in 2014. What are they hiding? They simply must start publishing this data again.”

Dr Peiser added:

Actually this is a big opportunity for government. The Treasury recently announced a moratorium on renewable energy subsidies, but this is not enough to prevent excessive burdens on consumers. With customers and even energy suppliers becoming increasingly unhappy with the policy costs, this is the right moment to announce an inquiry into retrospective measures to reduce energy policy costs."

Notes for Editors

1. https://www.netzerowatch.com/content/uploads/2018/04/Opus-Energy-Price-Increase-letter.pdf

2. For further details see:  https://www.netzerowatch.com/policies-are-to-blame-for-rising-uk-electricity-prices/

3. https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/10/interview-centrica-ceo-iain-conn-on-theresa-mays-price-cap/