How to cut bills: A crisis we can’t afford to ignore

We know the Clean Power Mission is the only way to permanently achieve bill reductions, but this will take time.  In ‘How to cut bills: A crisis we can’t afford to ignore’, Energy UK sets out a roadmap for achieving significant bill savings over the next five years.

Energy bills in the UK are too high. Around 40% of customers struggle to afford energy, over three million households live in fuel poverty, and energy debt is running at a record high of around £4 billion. The solution is well known; reducing our reliance on international gas prices. The Clean Power Mission is crucial to reducing energy bills, but like any long-term infrastructure project, the full benefits of clean, homegrown energy will take time materialise. As things stand, the Government’s ability to reduce household energy bills by £300 by 2030 relies primarily on a decrease in international gas prices, over which we have no control.

Achieving significant bill reductions over the next five years will require a step change from the Government. Energy UK is calling for a National Strategy on Energy Bills led by No.10 or the Treasury to drive change across Whitehall and deliver on this promise.    

Energy UK has outlined a range of potential savings, for example through accelerating critical network connections and changes to the Contracts for Difference scheme. The biggest possible bill reductions will come from removing policy costs from electricity bills, providing targeted support for customers in fuel poverty, and maximizing the potential of flexibility in homes.  Energy UK’s proposals for policy cost rebalancing alone would deliver up to £400 reduction in annual energy bills for households using electric heating.

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