UK committee quells fears that green energy raises prices

BBC : Claims that high energy bills are the result of investment in low-carbon technologies are unfounded, says the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Instead, it found that increases in bills over the past few years have been mostly due to higher wholesale gas costs. Although the combined gas and electric bill for a typical UK household is expected to rise from £1060 ($1600) in 2010 to £1250 ($2000) by 2020, further energy efficiency measures, such as better insulation, could limit that increase to only about £150 ($100). And, says CCC chief executive David Kennedy, the costs of investing in green energy were “significantly” outweighed by the benefits—among them, a reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels. The investigation of rising fuel prices was prompted, in part, by the large number of people in the UK with energy debt. An independent report published in October found that some 2700 people die in that country each year from problems linked to fuel poverty.