By L Whitmore, 29th June 2010
'Hidden taxes' on household energy bills could double over the
next decade, according to uSwitch.com.
Research by the energy comparison and switching site reveals
that average UK households currently pay an extra £84, or 7%,
in environmental levies on top of their annual energy bill, but
this could rise to £176 within the next ten years due to a number
of fresh government climate change schemes.
Currently, the environmental levy on energy bills includes the
cost of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (£45), the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (£24), the Renewables Obligation (£12) and
the Community Energy Saving Programme (£3).
But a number of new schemes created by the previous government,
in addition to plans currently being considered by the Treasury,
could result in these taxes doubling, which would work out to 15%
of the average household's energy expenditure.
Furthermore, research by the professional services firm Ernst
& Young suggests that this may only be the beginning, with the
potential for up to £548 to be added onto the average household
energy bill within the next fifteen years - money which would be
used to cover the cost of investing in the country's energy
supplies.
Despite the fact that householders will likely end up recouping
these losses through higher energy prices, it also seems probable
that additional levies will be added to further offset the cost. In
fact, some of the additional costs added on to energy bills already
go towards energy investment, and with growing pressure to
establish more environmentally friendly energy sources, this amount
seems set to rise.
While it may be inevitable that outlay by the energy companies
will end up passed on to the consumer, at present the exact nature
of these costs is often left undisclosed. Hopefully, if we are made
to pay more, the energy companies will see fit to take a more
transparent approach to how these taxes are applied.
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