Here are the climate-related sections of speeches by MPs during the Commons debate Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) (No. 2) Regulations 2026.
16:30 Polly Billington (Labour)
The scheme has been instrumental in building the UK’s renewable energy sector. It supports about 35 GW of generation capacity and about 30% of total UK electricity generation. The core of the renewables obligation scheme is a process in which electricity suppliers purchase certificates from renewables generators. Previously, suppliers recovered all the costs of complying with the obligations from consumers via their electricity bills, with Ofgem reflecting those costs through the price cap.
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16:38 Bradley Thomas (Conservative)
We are pleased to see the Government finally adopt our Conservative party policy of abolishing the carbon price support on electricity generation, but their plan for the promised £300 savings is still nowhere to be found. While Labour transfers the cost of renewable subsidies on to taxpayers, the Conservative party has set out our cheap power plan to reduce the underlying cost of energy for households. That plan would abolish the renewables obligation altogether, accelerate the delivery of new nuclear power by cutting unnecessary planning barriers, remove VAT from domestic energy bills for three years and abolish the carbon tax. Together, those measures would reduce household bills by around £200—not simply move costs from one bill to another. Can the Minister outline what the Government’s plan for cheap power is, and if not, whether they are willing to accept ours as a solution? Finally, when, if ever, will households receive the £300 reduction in energy bills, as promised at the last general election?
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16:47 Polly Billington (Labour)
The UK has a diverse and resilient energy system—indeed, one that the right hon. Gentleman oversaw for some time—and we will of course continue to monitor the situation in the middle east closely. I assure colleagues that contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality to ensure that the Government can be responsive and responsible. It is important to understand that we need a principled reform to shift the balance of levy costs from the bill to the Exchequer, because we need to make sure that that is a fairer way of dealing with the cost of a shift to a cleaner and more resilient energy system. The reason we have given for not abolishing the renewables obligation, which is a suggestion from the Conservatives, is that it would significantly impact on investor confidence and energy security. There is a risk of there being no certainty that 25,000 renewable energy projects would continue generating without that subsidy. I am sure that His Majesty’s Opposition would not want a set of policy proposals that would threaten the security of our energy system in that way.
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