The Government have released details of their new Energy Bill, which includes new measures to fund low-carbon electricity infrastructure. It is part of the biggest shake-up of the energy market in decades, although householders may not welcome the news.
The new Bill, if approved by Parliament in its current form, will allow energy companies to charge households an extra £7.6 billion to fund the infrastructure by 2020. Some have calculated that this could see the average household energy bill rise by as much as £95, whilst others predict a higher rise of £178 by 2020. However, the actual figure remains unknown.
The rise in costs would help energy firms to build renewable and nuclear power stations.
However, despite this vote of support for greener energy, the self labelled "greenest Government ever" will not commit to any decision on carbon emission targets until 2016, after the next general election.
Until the decision is made on carbon emission targets, Angela Knight, Chief executive of Energy UK, believes the Energy Bill will have positive outcomes, "We are pleased to see that the levy control framework means that the UK will be building new power stations, including nuclear and renewables. This is a huge investment and must bring forward the jobs and economic growth that the UK needs."
