Households face £170 net-zero green levy within days as government funding ends
24 June 2023, 22:59 | Updated: 24 June 2023, 23:05
Taxpayers face a £170-a-year green levy on top of their energy bills within a few days as the government suddenly cut off its subsidy for the net-zero charge.
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The two-year suspension of green levies, which came into place just six months ago, will reportedly end at the start of July.
Energy firms and MPs had lobbied for the government to pay the charge during the cost of living crisis.
But with energy bills set to fall by an average of almost £500 from July, the government is placing the cost back on households, The Telegraph reported.
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Jacob Rees-Mogg told the newspaper that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have behaved "slyly".
He said: “Green levies are part of the problem behind the UK’s particularly high electricity prices. They ought to be abolished but should fall on general taxation until that can happen. The ambition for net zero must not make us cold and poor.
“Any new or re-imposed charge ought to be announced to Parliament first and not slipped through slyly.”
Energy regulator Ofgem and the Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.
The good news for consumers is that energy bills are set to be slashed from the start of July as the government's energy price cap falls by £426.
The cap will now be an annual £2,074, down from a peak of £4,279 in January this year.
It's the first time consumers on default tariffs will see their prices fall since the global gas crisis took hold more than 18 months ago, Ofgem said.
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Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The fall in the price cap provides some desperately needed respite for households but energy bills will still be nearly double what they were just 18 months ago. That’s unaffordable for millions of households.
“For many, life is getting worse, not better. Year on year we’re breaking records for the number of people struggling with energy debt.
“It’s clear more government support will be needed in the future for struggling households.”
