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Electricity Market Reform

We are certainly having to play catch-up—I make no bones about it—because after 13 years of Labour Government we inherited a situation in which the UK was ranked 25th out of the 27 European Union member states on installed renewables. The hon. Lady talks about the speed and dynamism exhibited by the Opposition when they were in government, but not a single new nuclear power station has been consented to since 1986, so the reality is that the track record of which she boasts is entirely mythological, like some Grecian beast seen far off in the mists that suddenly vanishes. We are confident that there will enormous benefits for small suppliers as a result of these changes, because it is precisely the long-term contracts that will encourage new entrants into the market and ensure that they have certainty about price, which they cannot rely on if they do no understand the market as well as the big six. That will make our market more competitive, which is a fundamental way of ensuring that we get a better deal for the consumer in the long run. The hon. Lady asked which technologies will benefit more. We are not attempting to pick winners, unlike the Opposition, evidently. We want a level playing field for all low-carbon technologies, because we recognise the genuine uncertainties about the development of such technologies. As we learn more about which technologies will be the most effective and have the lowest cost, we will invest more in the winners, and that will be discovered through normal market processes. When it comes to consumers, we have been clear about the need to reduce the complexity of tariffs and insist that every energy bill shows the lowest tariff available from the supplier, and we have had a clear review of the retail market from Ofgem. We want greater competition and are encouraging new entrants through all these means, in addition to the support of a 67% increase in the social discount budget, compared with the money set aside under voluntary agreements by the previous Labour Government. We are helping in particular those who most need help with their energy bills, because they are the most vulnerable, and Government Members can be proud of that. New legislation will be introduced at the beginning of the next Session, in May 2012. The working group on decentralised energy will attempt to tackle all the different barriers to decentralised energy, ensuring that it is able to play its full part in diversifying our supply. The key to auctioning, which I very much want us to adopt, is that there should be greater certainty about costs so that those who are participating in the auction are able not only to see that they have a reasonable chance of winning but to identify their costs. The hon. Lady asked what measures we are taking on the reduction of energy demand. The most significant of those is the pioneering measure in the Energy Bill—the green deal. We are the first of any of the leading G20 countries to introduce this measure, which we continue to maintain is on course for launch in October 2012, when it will be a roaring success.