EU windfall should be used to cut home energy bills

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 26th Jul 2008

Dr Alan Butt Philip, the Welsh Liberal Democrats' lead candidate in next year's European elections, has urged energy companies to use a new EU environmental scheme to cut rising energy bills.

Speaking to supporters at an event in Wrexham and Clwyd South, Dr Butt Philip said: "It is very clear that energy bills this winter will rise sharply and that, once again, elderly people especially will be forced to choose between heating and eating. In the next few years fuel seems set to rise in price by as much as sixty per cent."

Help could however be at hand thanks to the European Union's emissions trading scheme which has just handed UK energy companies a £9 billion windfall.

"This new scheme is designed to cut industrial emissions by licensing such emissions across the EU using tradable permits

up to a fixed limit," he added. "Every year the amount of allowable emissions is being cut and the value of the permits issued increases. The EU's scheme is widely seen as a model for the rest of the world in reducing the impact of climate change.

"This year the energy companies have struck lucky with their allocations of permits. They should put this windfall profit towards a massive home energy efficiency scheme, with a special focus on their poorest and most vulnerable customers.

"We know from recent trials by British Gas that whole communities could cut their energy bills by at least 20 per cent on average with the help of relatively low cost basic insulation and similar measures. The energy companies should roll out a UK-wide programme to make this happen using their recent

windfall money from the EU's emission's trading scheme."

Dr Alan Butt Philip was speaking to supporters at a fund-raising garden party held at the home of Lord Thomas of Gresford, near Wrexham.