188体育

08 July 2011

Responding to this morning鈥檚 price announcement by British Gas, Energy and Climate Change Secretary The Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP said:

鈥淭his announcement will be tough for consumers who are already struggling to meet their bills. The uncomfortable truth is Britain鈥檚 consumers are being buffeted by the violent and unpredictable winds of global fossil fuel prices.

鈥淚 refuse to stand by and watch this happen.

鈥淚鈥檓 pushing the big six suppliers to help their customers overhaul their draughty homes and understand the best tariffs on offer, and I鈥檓 backing new entrants to bring more competition to the market.

鈥淏ut there鈥檚 a way out of this. Look at how the French benefit from only relying on fossil fuels for a fraction of their power - bills there are only expected to rise by 3% this year.

鈥淭he UK electricity market has to change, so that we escape the cycle of fossil fuel addiction. Alternatives like renewables and nuclear power must be allowed to become the dominant component of our energy mix.

鈥淥nly radical reform now will give us the best chance in the long run of keeping the lights on at a price that doesn鈥檛 wreck our economy over and over again.鈥�

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Notes for editors

1. Next week The Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP will publish a White Paper on Electricity Market Reform, a critical moment in keeping the lights on, consumer bills down and shifting the UK economy away from a high risk, high carbon future.

2. DECC Ministers have taken a number of other recent steps aimed at ensuring consumers get a better deal:

7 July 2011:

29 June 2011:

22 June 2011:

17 June 2011:

13 June 2011:

2 June 2011:

10 May 2011:

14 April 2011:

21 September 2010: