The Messsage from the UK Government: Go Green, or Pay More on Heating

It is simply crazy. As we are grinding into the worst economic slump for a century, simple things like heating bills are going up and up.There are also significant health risks for pensioners and low income families. During the big temperature freezes of the past winter, it was they who needed to keep warm the most. Yet they are increasingly unable to pay their rising gas bills to stay warm.

We constantly hear advertising campaigns by multinational oil companies as well as government departments talking about Green, Renewable Energy. It is hyped up as the answer to all our troubles. And who would argue with the idea of saving some money and saving the planet. Secure in this righteous ideal they invest in wind farms and win votes, all in the name of benefitting society as a whole.

However the latest initiative by the UK government reveals the truth behind this egalitarian rhetoric. The plan is called the “Renewable Heating Incentive”, and aims to construct a large number of wind farms and solar energy facilities to reduce reliance on fast depleting and environmentally unfriendly fossil fuel sources. Now you’d think that the responsibility for paying for these developments would land at the feet of global energy giants - but you’d be wrong. The money to fund this scheme is ultimately going to come from ordinary people’s pockets! The government intends to introduce a levy for companies depending on how much energy from fossil fuels they provide. However the energy corporations intend to force their customers to pay this levy, by increasing our heating bills.

The price of gas incresed by nearly sixty percent in the past year, and electricty costs went up by over a quarter. This meant that millions had to think twice about switching on their portable heaters. In the midst of increasing poverty, the “go green” banner has been used as a solution for families to ease hardship by paying less for energy bills. However if this idea is brought in it will harm precisely those who are struggling. Essentially what this will mean is that those with more secure and higher incomes will be the ones who can afford to switch to green energy sources for their homes. But if you can’t, and resort to using fan heaters or oil filled radiators to warm your house when the temperatures drop, you’ll be hit with higher energy bills. This will be the case even with the proposed low interest loans being offered to carry out the work. If you’re already up to your neck in debts and worried about making rent next month, you’re hardly likely to take out a new loan, low interest or not. If the introduction of university student loans have taught us anything, its that offering low interest loans only make these schemes more appealing to the middle classes.

Is this not an unfair situation? Far better would be taxing the energy companies directly and getting hold of a tiny fraction of their trillions of dollars of profit.The proceeds from this could be used to carry out these improvements on the homes of those for whom paying heating bills is genuinely a struggle, so that they can pay less. Please contribute your thoughts on this matter. -earthfriendly