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Energy Providers

I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of energy providers." My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has just told the House that our new Department aims to have a climate change policy that is fair for people and an energy policy that is fair for the planet. The issue is how we balance those things, and I want to set out how we intend to do so. I join other colleagues in paying tribute to my predecessor as energy Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Malcolm Wicks), who for three years provided leadership and a deep commitment to dealing with fuel poverty and ensuring energy security in this country. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I look forward to working with him in his role as the Prime Minister's special representative. It is important that we reach a balanced view on climate change policy and energy policy. We must understand three key points. First, global circumstances shape our choices at home. Secondly, we must ensure that energy suppliers are encouraged to deliver affordable energy in sufficient quantity. Thirdly, we must be clear-eyed about the need for new energy generation in Britain. On the first point, we know that the global financial situation means that we all face serious times. Now, more than ever, climate change and the green agenda will face a testing time. There will be what my predecessor called siren voices, who will say that to deal with the financial problems we need to forget about the green agenda. The statement made today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State had not only an important practical objective but a symbolic importance. He clearly said that the Government will not be distracted, will maintain their focus and will ensure that climate change is at the forefront of the Government's agenda. The Stern report made it clear that the longer we wait to deal with the problem, the greater it will be and the higher will be the price to pay for not dealing with it. It is important that we focus on the issue in the coming years. However, these are serious times for people who have to pay bills—for companies, small businesses and individuals. In the first half of this year, average UK domestic electricity prices were the fifth lowest in the EU; average gas prices were the lowest. However, during the following months, price rises for households and companies followed substantial rises in international wholesale prices for crude oil, natural gas and coal. That, of course, fed into the increasing prices of electricity and the bills that people receive. International prices more than doubled between 2006 and early to mid-2008, principally because of rising global demand for fossil fuels, bottlenecks in freight and underinvestment in global production. Customers around the world are paying more for their energy and, even with a competitive UK supply market, our markets alone cannot entirely protect us from global pressures and competition for energy sources and resources.