Government climate change policies will save the typical household £41 in energy bills by 2030 according to figures released by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, although the same policies will increase the retail price of electricity by 41 per cent.
One of the ways DECC achieves its net savings figure is by assuming sizeable energy efficiency savings over the coming decades. By 2030, the document projects efficiency savings equivalent to 5 per cent of what the typical dual fuel bill would be were the policies not put in place.
The inclusion of figures based on assumptions about the uptake of voluntary schemes such as the Green Deal, alongside obligatory charges that will be fed into every customer’s bill, appears optimistic at best.
DECC subsidies have been in the news following last week’s announcement by Scottish and Southern Energy that it would be raising prices by an average of 8.2 per cent, one sixth of which the company says is due to the increasing burden of green policy charges.