Government policies to avoid blackouts will add £100 to UK household bills
Government schemes to keep the lights on and meet low-carbon targets will add £100 to annual household bills within five years.
The capacity market and contracts for difference which help guarantee the UK's energy security will help drive energy subsidies up by 124 per cent by 2020-21.
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These will also be driven by the renewables obligation and feed-in-tariffs which are designed to encourage renewable energy generation, according to the research by independent consultancy Cornwall Energy.
“While the future path of wholesale prices remains uncertain, policy costs are moving only in one direction,” said Jo Butlin, the managing director of Cornwall.
“Our research shows a confluence of factors serving to push these costs up notably in the next couple of years, though important drivers that could yet change the outlook remain beyond anyone’s control.”
The research suggests renewable energy subsidies, excluding the capacity market scheme, will have cost £7.7bn by 2020. This compares to an £1.5bn overspend estimated by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility last July, the Guardian reported.
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A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “Through the halting of subsidies for onshore wind in the [2013] Energy Act, to added competition driving down costs in contract for difference auctions and the capacity market, our actions have shown that we will be tough on subsidies in order to keep bills down for our families and businesses, and ensure value for money.”