Lower Energy Bills And A Green Recovery In Cambridge And The East Of England

Thousands of households across Cambridge and the East of England are set to benefit from lower energy bills, new jobs and the basis of a green recovery.
Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has announced a landmark deal with the major energy suppliers. From now on, energy suppliers will have to inform their customer if they are paying too much, and help move them on to a cheaper tariff.

In addition, over 3,300 homes in Cambridge have benefitted from home insulation, with plans for much more. From autumn this year the Government's Green Deal, headed by Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, will implement the most ambitious home insulation scheme the UK has ever seen.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat commitment to a green economy has paved the way for over £300 million of private sector investment in the East of England, with a further £30 million in the pipeline. Overall, this would create nearly 500 jobs in the green economy.

Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cambridge, said "rising energy prices and a boom in the number of tariffs have left people confused and paying more than they should. That is why Liberal Democrats have made the energy companies take responsibility and let people know how to knock the bills down.”

"As a Liberal Democrat, I know this is only the first step. Our reliance on dwindling supplies of oil and gas, mostly from volatile regions, is bad for consumers and bad for our energy security.”

"We are therefore absolutely wedded to a green recovery. We've fought hard to generate investment in a sustainable economy, so I'm delighted to see over £300 million of new investment in green industries in our region."

"These measures will help put our country on to a sustainable economic and environmental footing once and for all."


NOTES
The Green Deal - a Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment - will come into force across Britain later this year. It is the most ambitious home insulation scheme the UK has ever seen and eliminates the need to pay upfront for energy efficiency measures and instead ensures that the cost of the measures will be covered by savings on bills.

Currently, energy companies are obliged under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) to help households in Great Britain reduce their use of electricity and gas to lower their carbon emissions. CERT will end when the Green Deal takes over.