Energy campaigners and industry unite behind plan to cut electricity bills

Energy suppliers, business representatives, consumer advocates, academics and charities have come together to back a single plan for bringing down electricity bills.The Electricity Bills Taskforce, which has spent a year developing eight major recommendations, believes that implementation of the proposals would save the average household over £300 a year by 2030 and provide more support for struggling energy customers.Among the recommendations are measures the Chancellor will need to take in the Autumn Budget. These include a call for all levies to be moved from electricity bills to general taxation, lowering bills by £150 per household and 16% for businesses in 2030. This move was previously backed by more than 120 organisations in a submission to the Treasury.Other recommendations include:

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Energy costs are rising for every household in the country and another increase is expected in January, as the volatile cost of gas continues to drive the cost of living crisis.“This report sets out how to bring electricity bills down for everyone and make alternatives to gas and oil heating cheaper still. These recommendations are a long term fix, rather than Ministers having to keep patching over the damage being done every year.“But households already struggling need urgent help this winter too and the report sets out sensible recommendations for what should be done at the Budget.“It is very rare to see energy suppliers, business groups, consumer groups and charities all publicly agreeing on a way forward. The fact that such a range of organisations have put their names to this report means Ministers should take it seriously and implement its recommendations without delay.”Susie Elks, coordinator of the Electricity Bills Taskforce and Senior Policy Advisor at the independent climate change think tank E3G, said: “Millions of households and businesses are struggling with their energy bills because of our dependence on expensive and volatile fossil fuels. By removing levies from bills and unleashing the cheaper cost of renewables, the government can lower bills today for all households.”The organisations signed up to the report’s Eight Essential Actions are: Age UK, Ashden, E.ON, E3G, Energy Intensive Users Group, End Fuel Poverty Coalition, Good Energy, Green Alliance, Greenpeace, Heat Pump Association UK, Make UK, The MCS Foundation, New Economics Foundation, Octopus Energy, University of Oxford School of Geography and the Environment, OVO, Sustainability First, UK Energy Research Centre, WWF and Zero Carbon Forum. The data modelling in the report was provided by Cornwall Insight.The full report ‘Lowering GB Electricity Bills, Recommendations for Government’ is available to download as a pdf.

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