ECA calls for urgent energy price reform

In June 2021, engineering services trade body ECA warmly welcomed the urgent reform of electricity pricing recommended by The Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The June 2021 CCC report to Parliament recommends that future energy pricing must remove current fiscal disincentives to electrification, boosting the deployment and use of low carbon electrical energy across the UK. The CCC report also recommends examining existing energy taxes, such as the Climate Change Levy, to standardise carbon prices, noting that energy price incentives and carbon pricing will lower the current price barriers to electrification.

Steve Bratt CEO of ECA, welcomed the recommendations in the CCC report. He said, "There’s no doubt that the UK is undergoing an electric revolution. We urge the government to act on the latest recommendations of the CCC report and to urgently reform electricity pricing. This will speed up the switch to an electric, low carbon future.”

The CCC also supports a national electric vehicle (EV) charging strategy, with a widespread infrastructure of fast public charging points. In particular, it wants to see a better customer EV charging experience with more access to smart charging.

Steve Bratt added, “We need an integrated plan to install a comprehensive UK charging network to ensure that customers make the switch to EVs in the numbers required and over a timescale that will help to rapidly decarbonise UK transport.”

More widely, the CCC applauds the UK’s ambitious climate targets but says the UK government needs clear policies and better application to achieve its goals.

The CCC is an independent advisory body that was set up under the 2008 Climate Change Act to advise the UK government on how to successfully achieve UK carbon emissions reductions and deal with climate change.

This article originally appeared on the ECA website. It was published on 24 June 2021.

--ECA