To scrap levies and charges on bills
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Energy suppliers including British Gas, Eon and Octopus have called on the UK government to move a swath of charges from customer bills into general taxation as they face growing pressure to lower soaring costs for households. With UK gas and electricity bills forecast to reach as high as £5,000 a year next spring, four times the level before the energy crisis, suppliers have argued that the quickest way to reduce the hit to households would be to strip out many charges unrelated to the rising price of wholesale gas. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
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Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus, the UK’s fourth-biggest energy supplier, said energy bills had become a “catch-all basket” for charges ranging from support for poorer homes to levies to support investment in renewables. Wholesale gas and electricity costs currently account for just 57 per cent of the typical dual-fuel annual bill of £1,971 under the price cap, or around £1,077, according to regulator Ofgem. The rest — almost £900 — is made up of transmission costs, the standing charge and a plethora of other fees. Companies have long argued that some of these extra charges are necessary but also regressive as they hit the poorest households hardest. They say that some would be better paid for through tax, which would put more of the burden on higher earners. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
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“For decades, whenever a scheme is announced, the cost is loaded on to bills,” Jackson said. “These costs are now making high energy bills even higher, and need to be slashed as part of market reforms.” Eon, which is also calling for an energy efficiency drive, has calculated that moving various charges into taxation and cutting VAT could lower bills by