Miliband failing to cut household power bills, says climate adviser

Telegraph

25-06-2025

Ed Miliband has failed to make any progress on cutting household power bills, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned.
The quango said in a damning new report that the Energy Secretary has not done enough to remove net zero levies from bills, which is making electricity too expensive.
This failure means the UK remains at risk of missing its 2030 clean power target, it said, as inflated energy costs deter consumers from switching to electric cars and heat pumps.
Its research found that green levies are adding £500 to heat pump running costs each year.
'The Government has made no clear progress on removing policy costs since the election,' the report said. 'Making electricity cheaper remains our first recommendation.'
As part of its latest recommendations, the committee also called on ministers to curb emissions from Britain's aviation sector and ban all new homes from connecting to the gas network.
'By far the most important recommendation we have for the Government is to reduce the cost of electricity, both for households and for businesses and industry as well,' said Professor Piers Forster, CCC chair.
'If we want the country to benefit from the transition to electrification, we have to see it reflected in the utility bills, and that is our biggest recommendation – one that we have yet to see this Government deliver.'
Backfiring
The CCC is a statutory body that advises ministers on setting emission targets, measuring progress towards them and preparing for the impacts of climate change.
Its latest comments will serve as a blow to Mr Miliband, who has repeatedly pledged to cut average household energy bills by 2030.
The CCC's criticism will also sting given that, as energy secretary in 2008, Mr Miliband oversaw the passing of the Climate Change Act that brought the quango into existence.
As for its proposed ban on connecting new homes to the gas network, the report said: 'Currently, 71pc of new homes include fossil fuel boilers, which creates additional emissions, bakes in costs for the future owners of these homes for retrofitting with low-carbon heating, and means poorer air quality for the families who move in.'
Meanwhile, the committee's research found that the aviation sector produced 38m tonnes of carbon emissions in 2024.
The quango said ministers must do more to curb the industry's growth, such as making flights more expensive to reduce demand.
The report said: 'The most significant driver of aviation emissions since 1990 has been rising demand for international flights, particularly leisure.
'Aviation now contributes more to UK emissions than the electricity supply sector – a stark contrast to 1990, when aviation emissions were 10 times lower than from electricity, and close to half their current level.'
'Time for honesty'
The CCC's intervention came as a separate study from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) also warned that the UK's system of carbon taxes and green levies was adding unnecessary costs to the drive for net zero.
Lucie Gadenne, an economist at the IFS, said a tonne of carbon arising from most business activities would be taxed at £249 if it came from electricity, compared with just £52 if it came from gas.
An urgent rethink is needed to lower taxes on electricity, the IFS said.
An IFS spokesman said: 'Much of this tax gap comes from the choice to fund green subsidies through levies just on electricity, instead of a tax on all energy sources.
'If the Government wants to help households and firms with the costs of net zero, rethinking these taxes on electricity would be a good first step.'
Following the CCC's latest report, Andrew Bowie, the Conservative shadow energy spokesman, said: 'Even the CCC can see Labour's plans are not working and are costing the British people and British industry.
'It is time for honesty from Ed Miliband about what his madcap plans are costing and the impact on Britain's economy as a result.'
Richard Tice, Reform UK's energy spokesman, said: 'This report and the whole CCC will be thrown in the bin under a Reform government.'
Mr Miliband thanked the CCC and said: 'The only way to get bills down for good is by becoming a clean-energy superpower and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver clean power for families and businesses.'