Miliband confirms he could charge homes in the South more for electricity
Ed Miliband has confirmed the government is looking at plans to charge homes in the South more for electricity after critics dubbed the plans a 'postcode lottery'.
The 'zonal pricing' system would mean different regions are charged different rates for energy, with prices being determined by supply and demand in each area. With Scotland benefitting from greater wind supplies, its likely that homes in the South could face higher bills as a result of the scheme.
The energy secretary said ministers will 'make a calm and considered decision' on the issue, arguing the government's main priority is to 'cut bills' in a 'way that's fair'.
But the plans have been dubbed 'madness' by Labour donor and eco-tycoon Dale Vince, who warned it would create 'complexity, delays and unfairness'.
Asked about the reports, the energy secretary told Sky News: 'This is a very complicated issue that you're referring to that my department is looking at around so called 'zonal pricing'.
'Look, I'll be honest with you, we're still looking at the details of this, which is something we've got to really, really get right, and we're studying in detail the effects.
'Look, my bottom line here is we want to cut bills, and we want to do so in a way that's fair, and we want to make sure that happens, and that's my test for any reforms that we make.
'There's very strong views on both sides of industry, because you'll probably have gathered on this. People are fighting it out. We're going to take this, make a calm and considered decision on this.'
Mr Vince, founder of clean energy company Ecotricity, warned the plans would create a 'postcode lottery', telling The Independent: 'Tens of millions of Britons could end up paying more for their energy than they do now. It makes no sense when Labour's mission is about cutting bills for all rather than a few.
'Zonal pricing is being presented as a solution but it's madness. Fragmenting our energy market into 12 different regions would create complexity, delays and unfairness.
'Then there's the idea that businesses will relocate to where most of the renewable energy is, like the north of Scotland, because they can get cheaper energy there. I mean the chances of it happening are slim, and then there's the timeframe within which it would happen - we don't have that much time.'
He added: 'I think this plan has been written up in a windowless room with no connection to the real world.
'If the government is serious about lowering energy bills, we have far more sensible and effective options - chief among them 'breaking the link' between the price of gas and the price of all our electricity.'
RenewablesUK is also urging the government to rule out introducing zonal pricing, saying it could be incredibly disruptive to investment.
'The government has a golden opportunity to secure a record amount of new wind and solar farms in this year's auction for new projects, but we can only achieve this if we get the right framework in place to attract billions in private investment,' said chief executive Jane Cooper.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
4 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Most new homes must have solar panels and heat pumps under Government proposals
The Energy Department (Desnz) said on Friday that the future homes standard (FHS), which will be published in autumn, is expected to require new residential properties to have solar panels by default. Gas boilers will also not meet the proposed standard, meaning low-carbon heating – such as heat pumps – will also likely become the new default under building regulations. With a significant amount of the UK's carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the FHS will require new housing in England to produce fewer carbon emissions than those built under current regulations. Air source heat pumps use electricity and energy from the air to produce heating and hot water (Alamy/PA) The Government said the measures will also help to slash household energy bills and boost the nation's energy security. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard. 'So many people just don't understand why this doesn't already happen. With our plans, it will.' Desnz calculates that a typical existing UK home could save around £530 a year from installing rooftop solar based on the current energy price cap. Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: 'The future homes standard will ensure new homes are modern and efficient with low-carbon heating, while our common-sense planning changes will now make it easier and cheaper for people to use heat pumps and switch to EVs so they can play their part in bolstering our nation's energy security.' Current building regulations do not require developers to add solar panels or heat pumps to new homes. In 2023, the previous Conservative government proposed new build homes would need solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building's floor area. Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills (PA) But this also allowed for exemptions, which would lead to no solar on many developments, the current Government says. Under the proposed changes, developers who cannot meet 40% coverage will still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage – or other forms of renewable electricity generation, with rare exceptions. Ministers also say the FHS will effectively require low-carbon heating, such as domestic heat pumps installed into new builds. The previous Conservative government faced criticism for rowing back on its proposals to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. While the Government is not planning to introduce such a ban, citing concerns around cost, Desnz confirmed on Friday that FHS proposals include mandating minimum criteria for energy efficiency which mean newly built homes have to install greener heating systems. Recent changes to planning rules aimed at removing barriers to heat pump installations came into force on May 29, enabling households to install a heat pump within one metre of their property's boundary without having to submit a planning application. The first quarter of 2025 saw a record number of applications to the boiler upgrade scheme, which provides households with up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, seeing a 73% jump from the same quarter last year. Charles Wood, deputy director of policy (systems) at Energy UK, said: 'This change, alongside wider reforms to planning processes and network connections, will reduce bills for people in new build properties while also giving the industry confidence to invest in increased manufacturing and installer training as demand increases, creating jobs and bringing down technology costs for everyone.' The UK is legally committed to reaching its net zero target by 2050, meaning the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
South Wales Argus
4 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Swinney defends ‘two-horse race' comments after by-election loss to Labour
The First Minister spoke of his disappointment at his party's loss, acknowledging there is 'anger' about the cost of living and concerns around access to services in Scotland. In the run-up to polls opening on Thursday, Mr Swinney had repeatedly sought to frame the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election as a contest between his party and Nigel Farage's Reform. But in a surprise result in the early hours of Friday, Scottish Labour were victorious with their candidate Davy Russell taking 8,559 votes. The SNP's Katy Loudon took 7,957 votes, while Reform's Ross Lambie secured 7,088. Labour are celebrating their by-election win (Jane Barlow/PA) Mr Swinney spoke to journalists at the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, saying his party had improved its position from a devastating general election result last year, but recognising they must make further progress ahead of next year's Scottish Parliament vote. He told the PA news agency: 'Clearly, we're disappointed that we didn't win last night, but we made progress in the election compared to the general election last summer, and we've got to build on that and make sure that we strengthen our support in advance of 2026. 'So the SNP made progress last night, but it's not nearly enough and we've got to build on that.' (PA Graphics) Asked if it was a mistake to call the by-election a 'two-horse race', he said: 'I called it the way I saw it. 'The way I saw it was the Labour vote was collapsing compared to the general election last summer, which it did, it was down 20%. 'We saw the Reform vote surging, which it has. The SNP sought to portray the by-election as a contest between themselves and Reform (Jane Barlow/PA) 'And in that context, I thought the SNP was best placed to see off Reform because of the scale of collapse in the Labour vote.' He said Nigel Farage represented a 'poisonous injection into our politics'. Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice has said he is 'delighted' with the result in Hamilton. (PA Graphics) Mr Swinney also defended his party's campaign in the constituency, saying it was 'energetic' and 'enthusiastic'. He had frequently visited the seat in the run-up to the vote. Asked if people are turning away from the SNP because of their record in government, he said: 'There's a lot of anger in the electorate just now because people are finding things tough, particularly with the cost of living, and they're concerned about about issues in terms of access to public services. 'So what my government is going to focus on is addressing the day-to-day priorities of people in Scotland, about improving their lives.' He mentioned the Scottish Government's plans to scrap peak rail fares in September and bring down NHS waiting lists.
Rhyl Journal
5 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Most new homes must have solar panels and heat pumps under Government proposals
The Energy Department (Desnz) said on Friday that the future homes standard (FHS), which will be published in autumn, is expected to require new residential properties to have solar panels by default. Gas boilers will also not meet the proposed standard, meaning low-carbon heating – such as heat pumps – will also likely become the new default under building regulations. With a significant amount of the UK's carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the FHS will require new housing in England to produce fewer carbon emissions than those built under current regulations. The Government said the measures will also help to slash household energy bills and boost the nation's energy security. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'Solar panels can save people hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, so it is just common sense for new homes to have them fitted as standard. 'So many people just don't understand why this doesn't already happen. With our plans, it will.' Desnz calculates that a typical existing UK home could save around £530 a year from installing rooftop solar based on the current energy price cap. Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: 'The future homes standard will ensure new homes are modern and efficient with low-carbon heating, while our common-sense planning changes will now make it easier and cheaper for people to use heat pumps and switch to EVs so they can play their part in bolstering our nation's energy security.' Current building regulations do not require developers to add solar panels or heat pumps to new homes. In 2023, the previous Conservative government proposed new build homes would need solar panel coverage equivalent to 40% of the building's floor area. But this also allowed for exemptions, which would lead to no solar on many developments, the current Government says. Under the proposed changes, developers who cannot meet 40% coverage will still be required to install a reasonable amount of solar coverage – or other forms of renewable electricity generation, with rare exceptions. Ministers also say the FHS will effectively require low-carbon heating, such as domestic heat pumps installed into new builds. The previous Conservative government faced criticism for rowing back on its proposals to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. While the Government is not planning to introduce such a ban, citing concerns around cost, Desnz confirmed on Friday that FHS proposals include mandating minimum criteria for energy efficiency which mean newly built homes have to install greener heating systems. Recent changes to planning rules aimed at removing barriers to heat pump installations came into force on May 29, enabling households to install a heat pump within one metre of their property's boundary without having to submit a planning application. The first quarter of 2025 saw a record number of applications to the boiler upgrade scheme, which provides households with up to £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, seeing a 73% jump from the same quarter last year. Charles Wood, deputy director of policy (systems) at Energy UK, said: 'This change, alongside wider reforms to planning processes and network connections, will reduce bills for people in new build properties while also giving the industry confidence to invest in increased manufacturing and installer training as demand increases, creating jobs and bringing down technology costs for everyone.' The UK is legally committed to reaching its net zero target by 2050, meaning the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
