New levies on electricity and gas prices were announced by the energy regulator Ofgem.
Rachel Reeves pledged to cut energy bills by £150 a year (Image: Getty)
Households might pay an additional £116 a year by 2030 to fund £90 billion of spending to expand Britain’s power grid and maintain its gas pipelines. The new levies on electricity and gas prices announced by the energy regulator Ofgem will wipe out Rachel Reeves’s pledge to cut energy bills by £150 a year. Additional bill increases over the next five years will fund new offshore windfarms and the Sizewell C nuclear power plant.
Analysis by The Times has found that households will still pay more for power by the end of 2030, even after the government’s bill cut, compared to what they were when Labour came to power last year. Under plans announced by Ofgem, the levies on energy bills to fund gas pipelines and power grid – currently £222 per year – will rise by £40 in April, when the government’s £150 discount will take effect. According to Ofgem’s impact assessment, these levies are expected to continue rising over the next four years, reaching £338 annually by April 2030.
Ed Miliband pledged at the election to cut average energy bills by £300 a year (Image: Getty)
Greg Jackson, the founder of Octopus Energy, Britain’s biggest energy supplier, questioned the national power grid investment plans.
He told The Times: “Of course we need new infrastructure but these plans risk pushing bills ever higher. Every bit of these plans needs examining carefully and serious challenge to see what can be saved.”
Ben James, an independent energy analyst, found that average bills were now likely to reach £1,045 in 2030 – £139 more than they were in 2024 when Labour came to power.
“Network upgrades will reduce costs in the long term, but are likely to increase bills to 2030,” he said.
