A think-tank report said that energy policy was no longer 'fit for purpose'. The new challenge was predominantly to maintain security of supply while at the same time decarbonizing the economy.
Source: Dieter Helm, Credible Energy Policy: Meeting the challenges of security of supply and climate change, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report by a committee of MPs said that as many as 5.5 million households might be living in fuel poverty. Although there was a strong case for the industry's role in alleviating fuel poverty because of the windfall gains it was receiving, in the long term the government would need to consider whether it could continue to expect energy companies and the regulator to be responsible for the delivery of its social policy objectives.
Source: Energy Policy: Future Challenges, First Report (Session 2008-09), HC 32, House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
The Energy Act 2008 was given Royal assent. Key features of the Act included the creation of the legal framework to require power companies to cover waste and decommissioning costs in the event of new nuclear build; banding of the renewables obligation to differentiate levels of support to renewable technologies; and encouragement of investment in gas supply and carbon capture and storage.
Source: Energy Act 2008, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Friends of the Earth press release
Date: 2008-Nov
A report by a committee of peers said that meeting the government's renewable energy targets would add about £80 to households' annual energy bills.
Source: The Economics of Renewable Energy, Fourth Report (Session 2007-08), HL 195, House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report said that in 2006 3.5 million households in England were estimated to be in fuel poverty – compared to 3.4 million in 1998. The number was estimated to have risen almost three-fold since 2004. The government was expected to miss its legal target to eliminate fuel poverty for vulnerable households by 2010.
Source: The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy: 6th Annual Progress Report 2008, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (08459 556000) and others
Links: Report | DBERR press release | CAP press release | Help the Aged press release | Friends of the Earth press release | NEA press release | Transact press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on energy prices and fuel poverty.
Source: Energy Prices, Fuel Poverty and Ofgem: Government Response to the Committee's Eleventh Report, Seventh Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 1069, House of Commons Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that the government needed to urgently begin improvements to make homes more energy efficient, if it were to reduce the United Kingdom's carbon footprint by 80 per cent by 2050. Some homes were so environmentally harmful that they might have to be demolished.
Source: Low Carbon Existing Homes, UK Green Building Council (020 7580 0623)
Links: Report | UK-GBC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
An advisory group recommended ways in which the Scottish Government could improve progress towards its target of eradicating fuel poverty as far as was reasonably practicable by 2016, within the available public resources.
Source: Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, Towards 2016: The future of fuel poverty policy in Scotland, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | SG press release
Date: 2008-Oct
A report by a committee of peers said that 'urgent and drastic' policy and system changes were needed if the United Kingdom were to meet European Union targets on renewable energy.
Source: The EU's Target for Renewable Energy: 20% by 2020, 27th Report (Session 2007-08), HL 175, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
The High Court dismissed an application for judicial review brought by campaigners seeking to force the government to meet its targets for helping vulnerable people who could not adequately heat their homes. The judge ruled that government departments were not legally obliged to take action 'whatever the cost'.
Source: Friends of the Earth and Help the Aged v Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform et al., High Court 23 October 2008
Links: Text of judgement | Consumer Focus press release | NEA press release | Help the Aged press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
The energy industry regulator said that energy supply markets worked well for most customers. But it proposed measures to ban unfair price differences, including differences between payment methods such as those between direct debit rates and prepayment meter or standard credit.
Source: Energy Supply Probe: Initial Findings Report, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (0116 277 2617)
Links: Report | Ofgem press release | Consumer Focus press release | Consumer Association press release | NEA press release | Age Concern press release | LGA press release | Telegraph report (1) | Telegraph report (2) | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2008-Oct
The government announced the creation of a Department of Energy and Climate Change – combining policy responsibilities previously divided between other departments.
Source: Press release 3 October 2008, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (020 7215 5000)
Links: DBERR press release | SDC press release | Greenpeace press release | Green Alliance press release | WWF press release | Oxfam press release | CBI press release | NEA press release | Royal Society press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that the number of households in fuel poverty would double to 5.5 million between 2005 and 2011, with over 1.5 million extra households added to the total between 2007 and 2008 alone. The report highlighted rising differentials between the average bills for households using pre-payment meters compared with those billed on a quarterly basis.
Source: IPA Energy and Water Economics, Energy Prices and Debt, National Housing Federation (020 7278 6571)
Links: Report | Summary | NHF press release
Date: 2008-Sep
The government announced that it would bring forward legislation to require energy companies (including, for the first time, electricity generating companies) to invest an estimated £910 million in making homes more energy-efficient. It also announced further support for those most at risk of fuel poverty: cold weather payments would rise from £8.50 to £25 per week for winter 2008-09; and an extra £74 million would be invested in the 'Warm Front' scheme providing central heating and energy-efficiency measures to low-income and pensioner households. It said that around 40,000 households could see their fuel bills reduce by £180 per year on average, thanks to the measures announced.
Source: Press release 11 September 2008, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (020 7238 6000)
Links: Defra press release | Downing Street press release | Age Concern press release | Shelter press release | CIH press release | LGA press release | NHF press release (1) | NHF press release (2) | CIEH press release | Friends of the Earth press release | Green Alliance press release | WWF press release | Green Party press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Telegraph report | Community Care report | FT report (1) | FT report (2)
Date: 2008-Sep
The government began consultation on a national renewable energy strategy, designed to cut carbon emissions, reduce dependence on oil and gas, and claim a share of global 'green business' opportunities. Proposals were aimed at enabling the United Kingdom to meet its proposed 15 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, an increase of 1,000 per cent on existing levels. This was likely to include up to one-third of electricity coming from renewables, as well as significant increases in the use of renewable forms of heat and transport fuels.
Source: UK Renewable Energy Strategy: Consultation, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DBERR press release | RAB press release | Friends of the Earth press release | Green Alliance press release | CPRE press release | NHF press release | CBI press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report | FT report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report examined microgeneration technologies and consumer behaviour. It looked at the impact of various policy options on demand, modelled future uptake of microgeneration to 2050, and considered the likely impact of targets on uptake. A large-scale switch to microrenewable energy units could save the equivalent of nearly 5 per cent of all the emissions produced in generating electricity.
Source: Element Energy, The Growth Potential for Microgeneration in England, Wales and Scotland, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
A think-tank report said that an expansion of wind energy was not capable of filling the United Kingdom's energy gap.
Source: Tony Lodge, Wind Chill: Why wind energy will not fill the UK's energy gap, Centre for Policy Studies (020 7222 4488)
Links: Report | CPS press release
Date: 2008-Jun
An official advisory body said that the United Kingdom could generate 14 per cent of its total energy from renewables by 2020 if a set of identified radical policy changes were put into effect quickly. Recommendations included accelerating grid studies, streamlined consenting processes, early introduction of revised support mechanisms, and – 'most importantly' – strong political leadership. It also advised the government how the additional measures could achieve the full 15 per cent share required by the European Union's renewable energy target.
Source: 2020 Vision: How the UK can meet its target of 15% renewable energy, Renewables Advisory Board/Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report | RAB press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
The Energy Bill was given a third reading. The Bill contained the legislative provisions required to implement energy policy following publication of the Energy White Paper in 2007. Key features of the Bill included the creation of the legal framework to require power companies to cover waste and decommissioning costs in the event of new nuclear build; banding of the renewables obligation to differentiate levels of support to renewable technologies; and encouragement of investment in gas supply and carbon capture and storage.
Source: Energy Bill, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 30 April 2008, columns 312-416, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC research brief | Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Apr
The government published (following consultation) a White Paper and a Bill on nuclear energy. It said that it approved the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations, which would provide 'clean, secure and affordable' energy. The Bill (which would not apply to Scotland) was subsequently given a second reading.
Source: Meeting the Energy Challenge: A White Paper on nuclear power, Cm 7296, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Energy Bill, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, TSO
Links: White Paper | Impact assessment | Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC research brief | Consultation responses | Hansard | Hansard (Bill second reading) | DBERR press release | SDC press release | Friends of the Earth press release | Greenpeace press release | Green Alliance press release | Royal Society press release | Barnardos press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Scottish Government press release | TUC press release | PCS press release | CBI press release | Guardian report | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | FT report
Date: 2008-Jan