Telegraph: 'Laughable’ energy policy rows will raise bills, Tory energy committee chairman Tim Yeo warns
18/11/2012Confusion over energy policy looks “like a laughable plot line from The Thick of It” and risks increasing consumer bills, Tim Yeo, the Tory chairman of the energy select committee has warned.
Confusion over energy policy looks “like a laughable plot line from The Thick of It” and risks increasing consumer bills, Tim Yeo, the Tory chairman of the energy select committee has warned.
After weeks of public rows within the Coalition over policies on wind, gas and decarbonisation, which have seen the Energy Bill delayed by several weeks, Mr Yeo said the situation was beginning to resemble the satirical TV series.
“The problem is, the pension funds and investors we need to build new energy infrastructure in the UK are not finding it very funny,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “The more uncertainty there is about energy policy, the higher the perceived risk will be for investors.
“This will push up the cost of capital, increasing electricity prices and potentially undermining our energy security if projects are pulled as a result.”
His comments follow evidence to his committee last week that investors are worried by the recent policy rows.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey and his junior minister John Hayes have clashed over onshore wind, while Mr Davey is at loggerheads with the Treasury over a 2030 target for decarbonising the power sector, as recommended by the energy committee.
Ian Temperton of investment manager Climate Change Capital told the committee his clients were asking him: “Are these guys on the same page? Have they met?”
Ian Simm, chief executive of Impax Asset Management, told MPs: “Investors are really worried that with the political debate that has come into the forefront in recent weeks, a future administration will simply change the rules of the game again.”
The Energy Bill, intended to incentivise investment in low-carbon power, had been scheduled for November 5 but is not now due until the end of the month.