Energy Secretary Chris Huhne declared the Government’s energy policies will keep bills at their lowest for consumers over the next decade.

Delivering his annual energy statement to Parliament today, he he claimed that “the consumer is at the heart of everything we do” and unveiled new figures suggesting his energy policies will keep bills down by around £100.

The Energy Secretary added that this figure takes into account the cost of renewable energy policies and would be in spite of spiralling fossil fuel prices.

Mr Huhne said: “Overall, we anticipate that rising world gas prices will push up bills. But our policies will moderate this rise. By 2020, we expect household bills to be 7% – or £94 – lower than they would otherwise be without our policies.

This positive impact will be amplified for businesses, he claimed: “By 2020, policies are estimated to add 19% to the average energy bill of businesses that are medium-sized energy consumers.”

For large energy intensive users, who are more exposed to fossil fuel price volatility, the Energy Secretary suggested this cushioning effect will be between 2% and 20%.