BBC: Claims
that high energy bills are the result of investment in
low-carbon technologies are unfounded, says the UK’s
Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Instead, it found that
increases in bills over the past few years have been mostly due
to higher wholesale gas costs. Although the combined gas and
electric bill for a typical UK household is expected to rise
from £1060 ($1600) in 2010 to £1250
($2000) by 2020, further energy efficiency measures, such as
better insulation, could limit that increase to only about
£150 ($100). And, says CCC chief executive David
Kennedy, the costs of investing in green energy were
“significantly” outweighed by the
benefits—among them, a reduced reliance on imported
fossil fuels. The investigation of rising fuel prices was
prompted, in part, by the large number of people in the UK with
energy debt. An independent report published in October found
that some 2700 people die in that country each year from
problems linked to fuel poverty.
