Caroline Lucas calls for Big 6 Energy company levy
10 February 2012
A broad and influential coalition of politicians, economists, civil society leaders, NGOs, religious leaders, celebrities and campaigners have urged the Government to tackle the predatory behaviour of big energy companies by introducing a new levy on their profits.
In recent months there has been growing concern at the increasingly unaffordable cost of energy as a result of stagnating incomes, volatile wholesale prices and over-charging by energy companies - average household bills for gas and electric are now in excess of £1200 per annum.
In October, the regulator OFGEM revealed that energy suppliers had increased their profits margins by 733%, from £15 to £125 per household.
At the same time the latest data for the UK estimates that at least 5.5m households are now in fuel poverty.
The campaign is launched in anticipation of big energy profits announced later this month. In the first 6 months of 2011 alone the big six energy companies made at least £3.5bn in profit.
Co-ordinated by the centre-left pressure group Compass, the new campaign for affordable energy ‘END THE BIG 6 ENERGY FIX' has called on the Government to:
1) Impose a levy on the Big Six, with funds raised ring-fenced to help people with their energy costs, prioritising those living in fuel poverty, by making homes more energy efficient.
2) Give the regulator new powers to cap prices and eliminate excess profit.
3) Launch an independent public inquiry into the Big Six so that everyone knows the measures needed to create an energy market that serves the people before profit.
Tens of thousand of people are expected to sign a new petition athttp://www.endthebigsixenergyfix.org.uk/ in the coming weeks, piling pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to announce plans for a levy in the Budget in March.
The campaign will be targeting millions of people across Britain through using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
"It is completely outrageous that the Big Six energy giants are able to rake in eye-watering profits as people up and down the country are forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families.
"These companies are delivering a crucial public service, and it is now the Government's responsibility to hold them to account for failing to provide anything close to a fair deal for consumers.
"We need to see OFGEM taking a far stronger role in regulating this out-of-control industry so that we can end the Big 6 Energy fix once and for all."
Gavin Hayes, General Secretary of Compass said:
"The big energy companies continue to make massive profits whilst millions of Britons struggle to make ends meet and are driven into fuel poverty - this cannot be right.
"If the Government can impose a levy on the big oil companies to help motorists with their fuel bills, then why not impose a similar levy on big energy companies to help people with their energy bills?
"It's time to End the Big Six Energy Fix. I urge people to sign the petition."
Andy Atkins, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said:
"It's scandalous that the major energy firms are netting billions of pounds in profit while over five million households in Britain struggle to heat their homes.
"The Big Six have kept us hooked on costly fossil fuels for too long - we're delighted that Compass supports a public inquiry into their stranglehold on the market.
"A levy on the Big Six could help the poorest families afford insulation, but we also need to shift to clean energy like wind and solar power if we are going to stabilise fuel bills long-term".