The industry needs to open up the ‘honesty box’ and let consumers’ and businesses’ know about the charges on energy bills.

Speaking at the Energy Live 2012 conference in London yesterday, Angela Knight, Chief Executive of Energy UK said the energy market is “replete with contradictions”.

She said: “We do need to be much clearer on the bills, maybe we do need to say much more openly how much it is that, for example, it’s costing us on the various obligations that so many of the large companies have to meet.

“But at the same time if half of the bill is the energy companies and the other half is made up of various policy commitments of Government, various social obligations of the cost of transmission and renewable and the need to invest in the networks, we certainly do have to have an honest conversation. We do have to open up that box and we do have to talk about it and talk about it properly.”

She also accused consumer groups of deceiving the public on price rises.

Ms Knight said: “The thing is we’re not the only people who know what the bill is made up of – lots of others do. I just think that has got to be the time now in which other organisations come and explain with us how our energy bill is made up. We need the regulator, we need Government but the consumer groups are well aware as well. Why deceive the people? Why not discuss it properly?”

Talking about investment in the energy industry, she said a pound spent on this sector has a larger benefit to the economy than any other sector.