A report by a committee of MPs said that there was 'clear evidence' that levels of consumer trust in energy suppliers were low, and this might in part derive from a lack of transparency. Some consumers blamed energy company profits for rising prices. This was compounded by the lack of clear and understandable public information on energy company profits. Greater transparency was needed in respect of energy company profits and energy prices, including across the whole portfolio of vertically integrated companies.
Source: Consumer Engagement with Energy Markets, Fifth Report (Session 201213), HC 554, House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Labour Party press release
Date: 2012-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) said that annual household energy bills could increase by £100 by 2020 in order to support development of low-carbon technologies whereas reliance on unabated gas-fired generation could add £600 each year by 2050.
Source: Energy Prices and Bills Impacts of Meeting Carbon Budgets, Committee on Climate Change
Links: Report | CCC press release | Friends of the Earth press release | IOD press release
Date: 2012-Dec
A think-tank report said that in its existing form the new Energy Company Obligation scheme would take 125,000–250,000 households out of fuel poverty by 2023 less than one-tenth of the 2.7 million fuel-poor households in England. The coalition government should review the scheme in order to target fuel poverty more effectively.
Source: Reg Platt, Jan Rosenow, and Brooke Flanagan, Energy Efficiency: Who Pays and Who Benefits?, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Summary | IPPR press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) said that the latest round of energy price rises was likely to have pushed a further 300,000 households in England into fuel poverty. It said that coalition government action thus far was 'completely inadequate' to tackle the scale of the problem.
Source: Tenth Annual Report: 2011-12, Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (for England)
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the influence of social capital on information diffusion regarding the adoption of household energy efficiency measures. Although standard campaigns might account for two-thirds of information-seeking behaviour, they might not be addressing up to one-third of information-seekers who would prefer to speak to people they knew.
Source: Megan McMichael and David Shipworth, 'The value of social networks in the diffusion of energy-efficiency innovations in UK households', Energy Policy, Volume 53
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
Two linked reports examined the impact of future energy policy on consumer bills. The factor most likely to determine average fuel bills in 2020 would be the costs of wholesale energy (fossil fuel prices) and of the transmission networks. It was not true to say that policy costs (in particular policy on climate change) were driving the cost of energy bills.
Source: Darryl Croft, Ian Preston, Pedro Guertler, and Jack Carrington, Impact of Energy Policy on Consumer Bills, Centre for Sustainable Energy/Association for the Conservation of Energy | Ian Preston and Darryl Croft, Environmental and Social Levies: Past, present and future, Centre for Sustainable Energy/Association for the Conservation of Energy
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | CSE press release
Date: 2012-Dec
The coalition government published a strategy for improving energy efficiency.
Source: The Energy Efficiency Strategy: The energy efficiency opportunity in the UK, Department for Energy and Climate Change
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DECC press release | ACE press release | CBI press release | Consumer Focus press release | FMB press release | UKGBC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report for the consumer rights watchdog said that investing money raised through carbon taxes in a major energy efficiency programme was one of the best ways to create jobs and boost the economy, while also tackling fuel poverty. Significant infrastructure investment could lift up to 9 out of 10 households out of fuel poverty, reducing energy bills in all treated homes by at least £200 per year.
Source: Cambridge Econometrics/Verco, Jobs, Growth and Warmer Homes: Evaluating the economic stimulus of investing in energy efficiency measures in fuel poor homes, Consumer Focus
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release | ACE press release | TUC press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that the money received by those in fuel poverty in England had been cut by 26 per cent between 2009 and 2013, taking into account all the coalition government's new policies. The budget for energy efficiency measures for those in fuel poverty in England had also been cut by 44 per cent: this raised particular concerns because energy efficiency improvements were considered the best long-term solution to end fuel poverty.
Source: Antonia Jansz and Pedro Guertler, The Impact on the Fuel Poor of the Reduction in Fuel Poverty Budgets in England, Association for the Conservation of Energy/Energy Bill Revolution
Links: Report | ACE press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the prevalence of fuel poverty in the European Union. Fuel poverty was particularly high in eastern and southern states.
Source: Harriet Thomson and Carolyn Snell, 'Quantifying the prevalence of fuel poverty across the European Union', Energy Policy, Volume 52
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
The Energy Bill was published. The Bill was designed to reform the electricity market. Companies producing low-carbon energy including renewables such as wind and solar power, and nuclear power would receive a higher price for their energy than for that produced in fossil fuel power plants. Household energy bills would, on average, be 59 per cent lower than they would otherwise have been between 2016 and 2030.
Source: Energy Bill, Department for Energy and Climate Change, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | DECC press release | Barnardos press release | BCC press release | Carbon Trust press release | CBI press release | Consumer Focus press release | Friends of the Earth press release | Green Party press release | Greenpeace press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | REA press release | TUC press release | UKGBC press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Nov
The coalition government published a discussion document setting out a package of proposed measures designed to ensure that consumers got the cheapest tariff offered by their energy supplier that met their preferences. It said that the measures would also enhance overall consumer protection and enable consumers to compare different suppliers' tariffs and to switch more easily.
Source: Ensuring a Better Deal for Energy Consumers, Department for Energy and Climate Change, TSO
Links: Discussion document | DECC press release | Conservative Party press release | Ofgem press release | CBI press release | Consumer Focus press release | Friends of the Earth press release | Greenpeace press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | Daily Mail report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that the cost to the National Health Service of poor insulation and energy efficiency in the homes of older people was £1.36 billion each year. It highlighted the increased mortality rates due to cold-related illnesses that could be prevented with more investment in home energy efficiency improvements.
Source: The Cost of Cold: Why we need to protect the health of older people in winter, Age UK
Links: Report | Age UK press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Nov
The Prime Minister announced that the coalition government would introduce legislation requiring energy companies to give the lowest available tariff to their customers.
Source: Debate 17 October 2012, column 316, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | HOC research brief | Greenpeace press release | Labour Party press release | uSwitch press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Oct
A study examined how the benefits of feed-in tariffs, and new and innovative funding mechanisms for energy efficiency, could be accessed by social landlords. Although some social landlords had been able to access feed-in tariffs to install solar panels, the policy was not designed with the social housing sector in mind or intended to address social benefits more generally.
Source: Tessa Clark and Stuart Hay, Renewable Energy: Getting the Benefits Right for Social Housing, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined the social impact of whole-building energy efficiency refurbishments in residential tower blocks. It highlighted the way in which energy saving could help take millions of people out of fuel poverty, if accompanied by education to help households cut energy use.
Source: Katie Bates, Laura Lane, and Anne Power, High Rise Hope: The social implications of energy efficiency retrofit in large multi-storey tower blocks, CASEreport 75, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
The consumer rights watchdog published a survey of the action that local authorities in England were taking to tackle fuel poverty, and gave examples of effective approaches. It highlighted the gap between the level of existing activity and the level required to solve the problem. Some authorities had developed comprehensive strategies that encompassed all the key council responsibilities relating to fuel poverty and involved close working relationships with local partners.
Source: Joanne Wade, Emma Jones, and Julie Robinson, Going Local: A report for Consumer Focus on local authorities work to tackle fuel poverty, Consumer Focus
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
The government began consultation on proposals for a new way to measure fuel poverty in England, following an independent review. The new definition included dual indicators separating the extent of the issue (the number of people affected) from its depth (how badly people were affected).
Source: Fuel Poverty: Changing the Framework for Measurement, Cm 8440, Department for Energy and Climate Change, TSO
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | Consumer Focus press release | Friends of the Earth press release | NEA press release | uSwitch press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Sep
An article said that there were 'major failings' in the existing official definitions of fuel poverty. Expressing fuel costs as a percentage of income was a poor indicator of fuel poverty. A budget standard approach provided a more consistent, meaningful, and fair measure. The scale and nature of the problem changed dramatically with different definitions: but the definition was crucial to the mix of policies and allocation of resources required.
Source: Richard Moore, 'Definitions of fuel poverty: implications for policy', Energy Policy, Volume 49
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
Two linked reports said that improving energy efficiency in Scotland's households could play a significant role in helping to reduce fuel poverty.
Source: Tamsyn Wilson, Jamie Robertson, and Liz Hawkins (with Beatrix Futak-Campbell, Ada Yiu, and Dave Cormack), Fuel Poverty Evidence Review: Defining, Measuring and Analysing Fuel Poverty in Scotland, Scottish Government | Susan Walker, Energy Use in the Home: Measuring and analysing domestic energy use and energy efficiency in Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined an alternative measure of fuel poverty based on whether consumers felt able to afford their energy. Among low-income households, 28 per cent spent more than a tenth of their income on energy in the home, and so would be likely to qualify as fuel poor under the most usual definition: but only 16 per cent felt unable to afford sufficient energy to keep their homes warm. Among this group who felt they had difficulty in affording sufficient energy, less than half were 'expenditure' fuel poor. The reintroduction of a self-reported measure by the government would be a valuable aid to policy development.
Source: Catherine Waddams Price, Karl Brazier, and Wenjia Wang, 'Objective and subjective measures of fuel poverty', Energy Policy, Volume 49
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the earliest formulations of the concept of 'fuel poverty', focusing particularly on the 10 per cent 'needed to spend' threshold that was adopted in 1991 and remained in place some 20 years later. Understanding more about the origins of this threshold yielded a more critical understanding of why fuel poverty targets had not been reached, and enabled a more informed approach to setting realistic targets for the future. The authors also explored regional disparities in the prevalence of fuel poverty, highlighting the extent to which rigid adherence to a 10 per cent threshold had created an 'unstable regional mosaic' of over-estimation and under-estimation.
Source: Christine Liddell, Chris Morris, Paul McKenzie, and Gordon Rae, 'Measuring and monitoring fuel poverty in the UK: national and regional perspectives', Energy Policy, Volume 49
Links: Abstract
See also: Christine Liddell, Chris Morris, Paul McKenzie, and Gordon Rae, Measuring and Monitoring Fuel Poverty in the UK: National and regional perspectives, University of Ulster
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined fuel poverty through different concepts of social and environmental justice. Although fuel poverty was fundamentally a complex problem of distributive injustice, other understandings of injustice were also implicated and played important roles in producing and sustaining inequalities in access to affordable warmth. Addressing fuel poverty had to involve seeking justice in terms of the cultural and political recognition of vulnerable and marginalized social groups, and pursuing procedural justice through opening up involvement and influence in decision-making processes.
Source: Gordon Walker and Rosie Day, 'Fuel poverty as injustice: integrating distribution, recognition and procedure in the struggle for affordable warmth', Energy Policy, Volume 49
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined ways in which existing European Union policy on the development of 'smart' metering could affect fuel-poor households. Improved feedback and prepayment metering might benefit people in fuel poverty. But remote disconnection and data privacy were issues for all consumers, and a careful assessment was needed of potential gains and losses for those in fuel poverty.
Source: Sarah Darby, 'Metering: EU policy and implications for fuel poor households', Energy Policy, Volume 49
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that the proposals in the coalition government's draft Energy Bill could impose unnecessary costs on consumers, lead to less competition, and deter badly needed investment.
Source: Draft Energy Bill: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny, First Report (Session 2012–13), HC 275, House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | CBI press release | Consumer Focus press release | CPRE press release | Friends of the Earth press release | ICE press release | IOD press release | Labour Party press release | REA press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jul
An audit report examined the long-term challenges and uncertainties involved in supplying secure, low-carbon, and affordable electricity.
Source: The Government's Long-Term Plans to Deliver Secure, Low Carbon and Affordable Electricity, HC 189 (Session 2012-13), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release
Date: 2012-Jun
The coalition government responded to consultation on its proposed 'Green Deal', and published a final impact assessment. Social landlords, originally excluded from any of the scheme's funding, will be able to access a new £190 million fund targeted at the 15 per cent most deprived areas.
Source: The Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation: Government Response to the November 2011 Consultation, Department for Energy and Climate Change
Links: Response to consultation | Hansard | DECC press release | Final impact assessment | CBI press release | Consumer Focus press release | Labour Party press release | NHF press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Notes:
Consultation document (November 2011)
The 'Green Deal' is a programme designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Under the scheme, householders would be able to get energy efficiency improvements carried out with capital provided by businesses, who would get their money back through energy bills.
Date: 2012-Jun
A report said that nuclear energy was a clean, cheap, and safe way to meet future energy needs.
Source: Corin Taylor, Dan Lewis, and Wade Allison, Britain s Nuclear Future, Institute of Directors
Links: Report | IOD press release
Date: 2012-Jun
The interim report of an official advisory group said that fuel poverty had continued to rise in Scotland despite action by Scottish and United Kingdom governments over different administrations. It said that the Scottish Government should work with energy companies and local authorities to develop a national retrofit programme to help address fuel poverty: the programme would deliver support to households through comprehensive area-based schemes, with an initial focus on areas of fuel poverty and other deprivation across Scotland.
Source: Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, Review of the Scottish Government's Fuel Poverty Strategy: Interim Report, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jun
A briefing paper said that government programmes designed to tackle fuel poverty in England were scheduled to be cut by £1.25 billion, or almost 30 per cent, over the space of 3 years. Official figures published on the same day showed that fuel poverty in the United Kingdom had fallen from 5.5 million households in 2009 to 4.75 million in 2010 – a fall attributed by the government to rising incomes (especially among lower-income households at risk of fuel poverty), improvements in energy efficiency, and stable prices for domestic energy.
Source: National Fuel Poverty Budgets, Association for the Conservation of Energy | Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2012, Department for Energy and Climate Change
Links: Briefing | Fuel poverty report | DECC press release | Citizens Advice press release | Consumer Focus press release | Friends of the Earth press release | TUC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-May
A report said that more needed to be done to ensure that disadvantaged local communities affected by large wind farm developments could reap long-term benefits from such schemes.
Source: Richard Cowell, Gill Bristow, and Max Munday, Wind Energy and Justice for Disadvantaged Communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | JRF press release
Date: 2012-May
The coalition government published a draft energy bill that outlined long-term contracts designed to encourage investment in both nuclear and renewable energy.
Source: Draft Energy Bill, Cm 8362, Department for Energy and Climate Change, TSO
Links: Draft Bill | Hansard | DECC press release | Consumer Focus press release | BCC press release | CBI press release | GMB press release | Greenpeace press release | Green Party press release | ICE press release | REA press release | TUC briefing | UKERC press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the key issues facing the deployment of wind power, and highlighted lessons for the future expansion of other renewable energy technologies and the wider transition to sustainable energy.
Source: Joseph Szarka, Richard Cowell, Geraint Ellis, Peter Strachan, and Charles Warren (eds.), Learning from Wind Power: Governance, societal and policy perspectives on sustainable energy, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A think-tank report said that that there was a lack of competition in the energy supply market, and that some consumers were paying more than necessary as a result. It put forward recommendations designed to increase competition in the energy supply market and exert downward pressure on energy prices.
Source: Reg Platt (edited by Clare McNeil), The True Cost of Energy, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | Consumer Focus press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the distributional implications of policies designed to 'decarbonize' the economy. Many such policies were highly regressive, notably those where energy companies were obliged by government to improve energy efficiency and increase renewable energy, the costs to be met by increasing energy prices. Energy made up a far higher share of spending in lower-income households, making such cost increases regressive. It was impossible to fully recompense lower-income households (via social benefits, tax allowances, and credits) because of the heterogeneity of their circumstances and their dwellings. One solution might be to introduce a special low-income price index and 'social' energy tariffs that charged less for the first blocks of energy use.
Source: Ian Gough, Climate Change, Double Injustice and Social Policy: A case study of the United Kingdom, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
Date: 2012-Apr
A report said that fuel poverty and the sustainable use of energy could only be addressed together. It called for better advice services on the availability of different schemes and initiatives relating to energy efficiency, income maximization, and energy tariffs.
Source: In from the Cold: Working in partnership to tackle fuel poverty, Energy Saving Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
The final report was published of a government-commissioned review of fuel poverty. It said that the existing official way of measuring fuel poverty (based on whether a household would need to spend more than 10 per cent of its income on energy) was 'flawed', giving a misleading impression of trends, excluding some people affected by the problem at some times, and including people with high incomes at others. It proposed a new way of measuring the problem, focused both on the number of people affected and the severity of the problem they faced. Using the proposed measure, nearly 8 million people in England, in 2.7 million households, both had low incomes and faced high energy costs in 2009 (the most recent year with available data). These households faced costs to keep warm that added up to £1.1 billion more than middle- or higher-income people with typical costs. This 'fuel poverty gap' – already three-quarters higher than in 2003 – would rise to £1.7 billion by 2016. This meant that fuel-poor households would face costs nearly £600 per year higher on average than better-off households with typical costs.
Source: John Hills, Getting the Measure of Fuel Poverty: Final report of the Fuel Poverty Review, Department for Energy and Climate Change
Links: Report | Summary | Hills press release | Hansard | DECC press release | ACE press release | Citizens Advice press release | Consumer Focus press release | CPAG press release | CSE press release | Labour Party press release | NHF press release | NPC press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Notes: The review report was also published as: CASEreport 72, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Date: 2012-Mar
A think-tank report called for greater energy market diversification based on encouraging consumers to become producers and owners of their energy.
Source: Caroline Julian and Julian Dobson, Re-Energising Our Communities: Transforming the energy market through local energy production, ResPublica
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined the impacts of the coalition government's new energy efficiency policies. It said that the 'Green Deal' would lead to a fall in the number of home insulation installations, risked failing to deliver the government's legally binding targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and would fail to prevent a rise in fuel poverty.
Source: Pratima Washan, Energy Bill Revolution Campaign Report, Camco Advisory Services
Links: Report | Summary | Transform UK press release | Labour Party press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Feb
A study examined the environmental, social, and economic impacts of renewable energy schemes.
Source: Paul O Brien, Nicola Carroll, Steve Cirell, and Debbie Johns, The New Green Team: Local government, sustainable energy, jobs and skills, Unison
Links: Report | Unison press release
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined renewable energy technologies installed by local authorities and housing associations in a bid to address the problem of fuel poverty. It said that there was often a limited understanding of how the technologies performed, or what level of savings were being delivered to residents. Social housing providers had often adopted a 'fit and forget' approach, which had resulted in under-performing systems and diminished financial savings for residents.
Source: Fin O'Flaherty and James Pinder, The Role of Micro-Generation Technologies in Alleviating Fuel Poverty, Centre for Infrastructure Management (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Summary | Sheffield Hallam press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report said that the coalition government's proposed new 'Green Deal' programme would fail to meet its own objectives of improving home energy efficiency and reducing fuel poverty.
Source: Dead CERT: Framing a sustainable transition to the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation, Association for the Conservation of Energy
Notes The 'Green Deal' is a programme designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, enabling householders to get energy efficiency improvements carried out with capital provided by businesses with repayments through energy bills.
Date: 2012-Jan
A report set out a policy framework designed to ensure that all energy use in all buildings resulted in zero carbon emissions by 2050. Local authorities should identify areas where fuel poverty was worst, and focus energy efficiency measures on them.
Source: Brenda Boardman, Achieving Zero: Delivering future-friendly buildings, Environmental Change Institute (University of Oxford)
Links: Report | Summary | ECI press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Jan
A briefing paper used the findings from a survey of parents with children under the age of 16 to examine how the cost of energy affected family budgets. Almost one-half (45 per cent) of parents said that they were considering cutting back on food in order to pay their energy bills during the 2011-2012 winter.
Source: Rising Energy Costs: The Impact on Low-Income Families, Save the Children
Links: Briefing
Date: 2012-Jan
A think-tank report said that 'unwarranted' support for wind power generation, driven by the renewables targets, was preventing Britain from effectively reducing CO2 emissions, while crippling energy users with additional costs. Gas-fired power was the most cost-efficient method of generating electricity in the short term, while nuclear power stations were the most cost-efficient in the medium term.
Source: Ruth Lea, Electricity Costs: The folly of wind-power, Civitas
Links: Report | Civitas press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was 'far from certain' that consumers would benefit from installing 'smart' gas and electricity meters (providing exact details of energy usage). Consumers would have to pay suppliers for the costs of installing and operating the meters through their energy bills, and no transparent mechanism existed for ensuring that savings to the supplier were passed on. The MPs urged the government to oversee the roll-out more closely.
Source: Preparations for the Roll-Out of Smart Meters, Sixty-third Report (Session 2010-12), HC 1617, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | HOC research brief | BBC report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Jan
A think-tank report said that 'unnecessary and hugely expensive' renewable energy policies would cost the average household £400 per year by 2020. It said that the coalition government had not clearly presented the full impacts and costs of climate and renewable energy policies, and that the United Kingdom could meet its carbon targets while saving households hundreds of pounds.
Source: Simon Less, The Full Cost to Households of Renewable Energy Policies: Analysis of government s annual energy policy statement, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | REA press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report examined ways in which the costs of the forthcoming 'Energy Company Obligation' (ECO) could be passed on to consumers by energy companies, in order to minimize the regressive nature of the policy. For the majority of low-income consumers, the pass-through of costs as part of the per unit charge was preferable.
Source: Costs of the ECO: The impact on low income households, Association for the Conservation of Energy/eaga Charitable Trust
Notes: The 'Energy Company Obligation' (ECO) is designed to complement the Green Deal programme from 2013 by supporting energy efficiency measures in low-income and vulnerable households, in cases where expected savings from the measures would not repay the costs.
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the effectiveness of policy for low-carbon and zero-carbon homes in England.
Source: Dan Greenwood, 'The challenge of policy coordination for sustainable sociotechnical transitions: the case of the zero-carbon homes agenda in England', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Volume 30 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
A think-tank report said that one-third of all households would be in fuel poverty by 2030 unless the coalition government rapidly moved to encourage and enable building of new nuclear generating capacity.
Source: Tony Lodge, The Atomic Clock: How the coalition is gambling with Britain s energy policy, Centre for Policy Studies
Links: Report | CPS press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report said that the coalition government had misled parliament over the need to build new nuclear power stations, distorting evidence and giving MPs a false summary of the analysis that it had commissioned.
Source: Ron Bailey and Lotte Blair, A Corruption of Governance?, Association for the Conservation of Energy/Unlock Democracy
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jan