Energy Bill Launched by the Government

The energy secretary, Ed Davey, launched the Energy Bill yesterday; saying that the reforms to the energy market that it would bring about would enable us to cut both bills and CO2.

After months of argument between the coalition members, Davey called the bill, "the biggest transformation to Britain's electricity market since privatisation."

The bill includes measures to pay energy companies a higher price for low-carbon energy (e.g. wind, solar and nuclear) than fossil fuel energy and to lower household energy bills despite the prospect of rising fuel prices. The Business Green editor James Murray has written an article in praise of the Energy Bill and the "clear and progressive policy landscape" that it represents.

There are also criticisms of the bill. The lack of a clear pricing structure for energy being a large one, creating uncertainty for potential plant developers and putting millions of pounds of investment on hold. Another is the lack of a 2030 decarbonisation target for the industry which has disappointed environmental campaigners.

However, we must wait for the dust to settle and the measures to start to take effect to see just how effective the Energy Bill will be. Southern Solar MD, Howard Johns, put it well on Solar Power Portal saying, "As always the devil will be in the detail."