Huhne on the Energy Bill

• [Sep 14] Christopher Huhne (Secretary of State, Energy and Climate Change; Eastleigh, Liberal Democrat): I BEG to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

I begin by thanking the many hon. Members who have contributed so much to the discussions on the Bill. The hon. Members for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex), for Blaydon (Mr Anderson), for Hyndburn (Graham Jones), for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) and for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead), who is my constituency neighbour, put a lot of work into the Bill during its lengthy consideration in Committee. I extend my thanks to Mr Crausby and my hon. Friend Mr Leigh for chairing the Bill Committee, and to Caroline Lucas, who worked tirelessly and made a substantial contribution to the debate, for which I am extremely grateful.

On the Government Benches, I should like to extend my gratitude to the hon. Members for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith), for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), for Stourbridge (Margot James), for Devizes (Claire Perry), for Winchester (Mr Brine), and for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), and to my hon. Friends the Members for Norwich South (Simon Wright) and for Wells (Tessa Munt), for the dedication that they have shown in scrutinising the Bill in its passage through the House. I also thank my officials, who have worked extremely hard to develop the legislation and who helped Members with their inquiries.

The centrepiece of the Bill is the green deal, an innovative finance mechanism to release capital for energy efficiency. The green deal is the first measure of its kind anywhere in the world, and it allows a payback to investors over long periods beyond the normal tenancy or period of owner-occupation, so that householders do not have to pay any of the cost up front, and much more energy saving becomes affordable. It creates a new market in energy saving that will cut energy bills, ensure against future price rises, provide local jobs, boost green businesses and improve our nation's energy security. We have worked hard to allow hon. Members to scrutinise the provisions in detail, and I believe that the proposal has been strengthened.

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William Cash (Stone, Conservative): Does the Secretary of State accept that wind farms have generated serious concerns all over the country? Does he accept, too, regarding his proposition on the value of the Bill, that the consumer tariff in fact pays significantly for the destruction of the countryside?

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Christopher Huhne : I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. The bulk of the Bill is about energy efficiency and energy saving, which means that we will need fewer types of electricity generation of all descriptions, including windmills. I disagree with him, as I think that windmills are beautiful and we should have a lot more of them. They provide the most economical form of renewable energy, and I trust that he will come up with ideas for many more windmills in and around his constituency.

There are provisions in the Bill for a new energy company obligation, or ECO, which is critical for delivering carbon savings in homes that are hard to treat. It will protect the most vulnerable groups and those on the lowest incomes, focusing on households that cannot afford to heat their homes adequately. The provisions relating to the private rental sector are a significant step forward. They are designed to increase efficiency to protect tenants in some of the worst housing and to boost overall carbon savings.

The Bill contains a number of provisions relating to energy markets and infrastructure. It ensures that I will have sufficient information to publish an assessment of future electricity capacity requirements, and that I have a duty to do so. That sits alongside the much more significant package of reforms covered in the electricity market reform White Paper. To improve security of supply, the Bill contains powers which, if taken, will give incentives to gas providers to continue to supply their customers, should Britain suffer its first gas supply emergency. Through this Bill, we will be able to de-designate areas of our continental shelf-a small but important amendment to the existing legal situation. Should negotiations between industry players over access to infrastructure in the North sea break down, the Bill gives us the ability to intervene and work to find a resolution, so that our energy security will not suffer.

The Bill contains powers to ensure that the interests of consumers are paramount. For example, we have taken powers to oblige suppliers to specify whether a cheaper tariff is available.

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John Baron (Basildon and Billericay, Conservative): On that issue, may I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Government on accepting the recommendations of the billing stakeholder group and, indeed, the need for a letter, where appropriate, provided that it is supported by a campaign by Which? and others, to make consumers aware of the cheapest tariffs? However, does he share my view, and that of the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend Gregory Barker, that Ofgem should publish its findings from the consultation on the retail market review before Christmas this year?

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Christopher Huhne : I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. The ministerial team is pressing Ofgem to move further and faster as quickly as possible on all of this, and I very much hope that it will be able to come forward with conclusions before Christmas. Clearly we

are then getting into the period before the highest energy bills, and it is important that consumers should have access to that information and to those potential safeguards. I will certainly be pressing Ofgem to do that.

These measures are accompanied by a number of minor yet vital provisions in the Bill that we need to make to secure our supply of low-carbon energy, and I am grateful to the House and to Members in the other place for taking the time to scrutinise and contribute to the Bill. It has a substantial measure of support across the House, despite the differences that we have had. I certainly pay tribute to Opposition Members. This is one of those cases where success has many parents and, as we all know, failure is an orphan. I hope that bodes well for the success of the Bill when it comes to improving dramatically our energy efficiency.

We have here the keys that will unlock the door that stands in the way of an energy efficient and energy secure Britain, and I commend the Bill to the House.

. . 6:59 pm

Graham Jones (Hyndburn, Labour)

In these final 15 seconds, I should like to say that there are real concerns in the Bill for the poor people of this country. There is the potential for high interest rates on the loans; the pre-payment meters issue has still not been resolved; and the energy company obligation is a regressive tax, because the energy consumption differential between rich and poor will not be that great, and it is going to hit low-wage households.

On the ability to pay, we have the issue of the ECO in hard-to-treat homes, and people who are on low wages but who have the ability to pay may be excluded, so the Government have real issues to sort out there. The Bill is not clear about doorstep mis-selling, whereby vulnerable people could be taken advantage of, so the Government need to tighten up on that, and the whole private landlords issue has just been a sop to the landlords, not to the tenants. That is a real problem, because a child now aged one might be 8 years old before they get the opportunity to benefit from the green deal and from insulation, and that is of great concern. I rest my 15 seconds there.

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Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion, Green): I support the Government's intention in this Bill, but-

Debate interrupted (Programme Order, 10 May)

The Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Question already proposed from the Chair (Standing Order No. 83E), That the Bill be now read a Third time.

Question agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed, with amendments.

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