Households will be penalised if they do not switch away from gas under net zero plans to be unveiled this morning
According to The Telegraph:
Ministers are planning to overhaul subsidy rules so gas is relatively less attractive compared to electricity in an attempt to drive the uptake of green power and hasten the end of fossil fuels.
The proposals risk forcing household gas bills up by as much as £100 a year, while electricity costs will come down.
Speaking on Wednesday, Grant Shapps, secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said: “If we want people to switch to an electricity-based economy, it would be better if [levies] were shifted onto the gas side of things.
“It automatically makes the economics of an electric-driven economy better.”
Electricity is regarded as a greener option because it can be generated from renewable sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. In contrast, gas releases carbon into the atmosphere when burned.
The measures are part of wide-ranging plans being set out by the Government on Thursday to bolster clean energy supplies in the long term.
Ministers are pledging to overhaul planning rules to speed up the building of new wind turbines and solar panels.
Projects to capture carbon underground, insulate homes and produce clean hydrogen are also getting more support.
A key aim of the change is to encourage households to switch to electric-fired heat pumps and ditch natural gas boilers, a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, amid flagging uptake so far.
Currently, households subsidise the growth of green energy such as wind turbines via levies on electricity bills, helping to make electricity more expensive than gas.
These levies, as well as other charges to pay for insulation and support for vulnerable households, currently account for £131 on typical annual electricity bills. Subsidy payments on a typical gas bill amount to only £34.
Ministers fear this price disparity deters people from replacing their gas boilers with electric heat pumps.
In a January review of the Government’s net zero policy, Chris Skidmore MP, recommended “rebalancing” the costs.
Civil servants said on Wednesday they had accepted the recommendation, with a consultation on exactly how to do so to follow…
Getting people to ditch natural gas boilers is a key part of the national push to cut carbon emissions, with the Government aiming to end the sale of new devices by 2035 although it has stopped short of a ban.
However, uptake of heat pumps – the only currently available mass market alternative – has been slow so far, with some households hesitant over their high cost and the disruption that installation can cause.
