Renewable subsidies ‘to add more to energy bills than planned’

Consumers will see an increase in household energy bills at the end of the decade as a result of the government exceeding its subsidies cap set for low carbon generation. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), the government initially set a cap on the Levy Control Framework (LCF) of £7.6 billion for 2020/21 but […]

Meeting UK carbon targets could cost £30 billion more without CCS

The government’s decision to cancel competition for carbon capture and storage may increase the cost of meeting the country’s 2050 carbon targets by an eye watering £30bn. That’s according to a report by National Audit Office (NAO) commissioned by the Environmental Audit Committee, which added it could also delay the deployment of the technology until […]

UK’s £240m energy efficiency scheme ‘failed to deliver savings’

The government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme, which cost taxpayers millions of pounds, forced up people’s bills without any additional energy savings. A damning report from the National Audit Office (NAO) states DECC’s design and implementation of the Green Deal, which was scrapped last July, did not persuade householders that energy efficiency measures are worth paying […]

Treasury’s Spending Review to be audited for environmental impact

The Treasury’s Spending Review is to be audited for its environmental impact. The Environmental Audit Committee has commissioned the National Audit Office (NAO) to look into how effective it is as a tool to meet environmental protection and sustainable development objectives. It will focus on whether the Spending Review takes into account the evidence on long term […]

Persuading public on smart meters “taking longer than we thought”

Energy suppliers have told national auditors it is taking much longer than they thought to explain smart electricity meters to the public. The revelation suggests there could be a real headache in store for both government and suppliers to make sure 53 million smart meters are in homes and businesses by 2020. One supplier told […]

Cost of closing nuclear plants likely to rise

The cost of closing and clearing up Britain’s old power stations could go up by billions of pounds. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority released its annual report yesterday which included predictions for spending on the decommissioning over the next century, known as the “Nuclear Provision”. The NDA is tasked by the Government to run the clean-up […]