Extra £3 a week for power is a fair price says senior Tory

[dutchman]

Millions of hard-pressed families were today told that an extra £3 a week on their energy bills would be a “reasonable price” to pay for more wind farms and nuclear power stations.

Lib-Dem Energy Secretary Ed Davey (right) announced a major Coalition deal to pay for a construction programme in the biggest reforms to the energy market for decades. Critics claim that the legislation will send bills soaring.

The Government will put £7.6 billion towards “green” power generation in 2020 — up from £2.35 billion this year.

Today’s deal was the subject of major wrangling in the Coalition. Mr Davey wanted clean energy and limits on carbon emissions, while Chancellor George Osborne supported new gas power plants and tax relief for shale gas exploration in the UK.

There were reports today that bills will rise by up to £178 a year over the next two decades because of the new green policies. But Mr Davey insisted that support for low-carbon electricity will add less than £100 to the average household’s annual bills.

He said: “The impact from supporting green policy is only two per cent on people’s bills at the moment. By 2020 it will be about seven per cent. We are talking about less than £100 in 2020.”

Mr Davey said the impact of other government measures, such as initiatives to encourage energy efficiency, will result in a £94 overall saving on household power bills by 2020.

But in remarks that risked angering consumers Tim Yeo, Tory chairman of the Commons energy and climate change committee, said: “I think a couple of pounds a week, maybe rising to almost £3, is a reasonable price for Britain to achieve a degree of energy security, reduce its total dependence on fossil fuels and honour its commitments to cut greenhouse gases.”

Critics today accused ministers of delaying their decision on a carbon emissions cap. Labour has already condemned the Coalition’s failure to set a limit for the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted by 2030. A decision on the cap will now be taken in 2016, after the next election.

Clare McNeil, of think tank IPPR, said: “The litmus test of this Energy Bill was a commitment to a 2030 decarbonisation target for the power sector and on this it has failed.

“Kicking this decision into the long grass and leaving the door open for changes to the UK’s fourth carbon budget and a dash for gas will leave the Government’s energy policy mired in the uncertainty it needs to avoid.”

Energy bills have more than doubled since 2004 to more than £1,300 a year, largely due to rising gas prices.

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Yeo is chairman of Univent plc, Chairman of TMO Renewables and non-executive chairman of Eco City Vehicles plc and AFC Energy plc.

Yeo and his wife Diane are sole directors of Locana Corporation (London) Ltd., Anacol Holdings Ltd. and General Securities Register Ltd.

Yeo is also a director of ITI Energy Ltd.

So no conflict of interest there then?

[rebbonk]

What I could find of Yeo's interests



£3/week on his money is not the same as £3/week on a pension.

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Tim Yeo MP pulls out of television interviews and refers himself to standards committee



Tim Yeo, the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, was filmed by undercover reporters working for The Sunday Times boasting that he could be paid to introduce businessmen to members of the Government.

Mr Yeo also said he had coached an executive from GB Railfreight before the executive gave evidence to the committee last month. The MP is a paid director and shareholder of Eurotunnel — GB Railfreight’s parent company.

The former environment minister was filmed saying: “I told him in advance what to say. Ha-ha.”

The veteran MP arranged interviews with the BBC and Sky on Sunday morning, but pulled out at the last minute. One broadcaster showed pictures of an empty chair captioned “No show Yeo”.

The reporters, posing as representatives of a solar company, offered Mr Yeo, a £7,000-a-day consultancy contract.

In return he offered access to people in industry and government. He said: “If you want to meet the right people, I can facilitate all those introductions and I use the knowledge I get from what is quite an active network of connections.”

The reporters queried if this included Government figures. Mr Yeo replied “Yes”.

The House of Commons' code of conduct forbids MPs from acting as paid advocates, including by lobbying ministers.

Mr Yeo is the latest in a series of politicians to have become embroiled in the lobbying scandal sweeping through Westminster.

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Tim Yeo dropped as Tory MP by local party

Tim Yeo, the Conservative MP and chairman of the influential Commons Energy Committee, has been dropped as a candidate at the next election

His local constituency voted at a meeting on Friday night not to re-select Mr Yeo as its candidate in the 2015 general election.

Mr Yeo, 68, who has represented South Suffolk as its MP for 30 years, is said to be “considering his options”. He has the right to appeal the decision or put himself forward as a candidate when the selection process for a new MP gets underway.

In a statement issued to the local newspaper, the constituency party said: The executive council of the South Suffolk Conservative Association met on the evening of Friday, November 29 and voted not to re-adopt Tim Yeo for the 2015 general election.

“Mr Yeo is now considering his position and will advise the executive council of his intended course of action.”

[rebbonk]

“considering his options”

A long walk off a very short pier would be a good one!