From last Saturday (1 October) the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee began and will support bill payers for the next two years. This caps the unit price of electricity at 34p per kilowatt hour and 10.3p per kilowatt hour for gas. The Government expects typical annual household bills to be around £2,500 which is far short of some estimates before this intervention which were upwards of £6,000.
The cap on the unit price comes on top of several other support schemes which will see most households receive £400 off their bills over the next six months with other payments for specific groups. This includes £150 for those on disability benefits, £300 for pensioners and £650 for those claiming, among other benefits, Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance of Income Support. This is not an exhaustive list and many people will be entitled to more than one of these payments.
Andrew Jones MP has written a briefing outlining all of the support now available as well as what is being done to boost domestic renewable generation, reduce consumption and bring down bills. You can view the full document here.
Commenting on the Energy Price Guarantee Mr Jones said: “As the global wholesale price of gas has increased the Government has stepped in several times to ensure households are supported. Now that the weather is getting colder and many of us are putting the heating on I am pleased that the Government has provided peace of mind by capping the unit price of gas and electricity. Doing so for two years is the right thing to do to allow the market to stabilise so bills fall back to their previous levels.
“Alongside the short-term interventions it is also important that the significant progress we have made in renewable energy and reduced consumption, outlined in my briefing, continues as that is the future in terms of reliable supply, lower carbon emissions and lower bills for us all.
“When I became an MP just 14 per cent of UK homes had an energy rating of C or above. That figure is now 46 per cent and rising. Likewise renewable capacity for electricity stood at 9 per cent in 2010. It is now 49 per cent and rising. There is more to do however, without this progress, we would be in a much more difficult position in terms of energy bills and security of supply than we are now.”
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