The Chancellor George Osborne is expected today to attack the Energy Companies’ Obligation yet again, which pays for energy improvements to homes especially for elderly and vulnerable people.
"The attack on the ECO is led by the energy lobby. Energy companies will see immediate gains and it’s highly unlikely ordinary people will ever see the promised drop in bills.
“But what would a progressive energy policy do?" asks Andrew Cooper, Green Party energy spokesperson, and he should know.
As a long-term Kirklees councillor , Andrew Cooper is the man behind Kirklees Warm Zone, the country's first universally free insulation scheme – something since copied right across the country. Not content with that, only last month, he announced a new record-setting £10m scheme where Kirklees Council will install solar panels on 2000 council homes within two years. [1]
“Bills are a priority. The Big 6 are making huge profits while ordinary people are watching energy bill rises of about 10% a year, every year. [2] This doesn't have to happen. We can – and should - get major reductions in bills by using energy conservation measures and renewable technologies. We'd use less, lose less and pollute less.
Over the winter of 2012/13, there were 31,000 excess deaths of elderly and vulnerable people. [3] The UK has a target of eradicating fuel poverty completely by 2016 but with rising energy prices and no effective policies to improve energy efficiency, this means it is another target that the Coalition will miss. Britain has the worst levels of fuel poverty across the EU, save Estonia. [4] Andrew Cooper, standing as the lead Green Euro candidate for Yorkshire and the Humber, is only too aware.
"Fairness must also be a priority. To most people, it's completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of elderly and vulnerable people die over a winter. So is there a way to bring bills down and prevent fuel poverty deaths?
"And what about energy security? Is there also a way we can increase Britain's energy security in a very uncertain world? Yes there is!"
"We have the technologies today to escape from the chains of ever-increasing energy bills, dependence on overseas energy, continually burning fossil fuels, and preventing fuel poverty deaths.
“In fact we can go in the opposite direction where an increasing number of individuals and communities own and produce their own heat and power from renewable sources. We call this an Energy Generating Democracy – and it’s an opportunity to solve all these problems at once.
“It requires us to meet our renewable energy targets, now and in 2030 – not to miss them, or get targets watered down, or to axe policies like the ECO in favour of big energy. It’s a progressive energy policy.
“But don’t expect anything like that from Osborne today!"”