Miliband's net zero muddle is putting lives at risk
Last month The Telegraph published three related articles detailing: how landlords could force tenants to pay for the costs of insulation and other energy-related building improvements demanded by the Government; how grants for heat pumps might be cut as a result of the upcoming spending review; and the fact that Ed Miliband is considering recovering renewable energy subsidies from gas bills, rather than electricity bills.
Collectively, these stories shine a light on how Labour is fundamentally reshaping Britain's energy market. Yet it's hard to describe just how harmful these policies would be.
The worst of the lot would be to move green levies from electricity to gas. At the moment, most subsidy costs are loaded on to electricity. This is because they support renewable electricity generation. Subsidies for green gas are already added to gas bills, but they are much lower.
Supporters of the idea of shifting more levies on to gas claim it would push people to adopt greener technology, such as electrically powered heat pumps.
Yet the logic of this argument rests on a flawed ideology known as 'polluter pays'. The idea is to make polluting – ie. using fossil fuels – so expensive that consumers would be forced to adopt other alternatives.
Except it doesn't work that way in practice. Many consumers have little or no choice over the type of fuel they use. More likely, they will face the unpalatable choice between heating and eating.
If you don't own your own home, you cannot replace the windows, upgrade the insulation or install solar panels. If you do own your own home but don't have a lot of money for major home improvements, you also won't be able to do any of these things.
As a result, putting green levies on bills is regressive: those least able to make changes end up shouldering more than their fair share of the costs as wealthier people invest in energy-saving measures and on-site generation.
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