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Energy Bill

The Minister says that it will be a fundamental change, but I do not understand why that is a problem in this context. By signing up to a target for 2020 of 20 per cent, the Government have already fundamentally changed the nature and cost of how we generate electricity. To say that we have to stick to the original objectives of cost and price at the same time as we are fundamentally altering the way which we generate that electricity seems to completely miss the reality. To turn round and say that consumers should not have to bear the cost in any way that will adversely affect them should have been thought of before signing up to the renewable obligation. What is being expected of Ofgem has changed. It has for many years run on a pantheon of two gods: reliability and cost. We are seeking to add a third equal god: carbon. That is a fundamental issue that we must deal with.