This obsession with green energy is making Britain UNINVESTABLE: JIM JOHNSON See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:12 BST, 26 August 2026 | Updated: 01:25 BST, 27 August 2026
The Energy Secretary appeared to admit on Wednesday that Labour's Net Zero drive is helping to push up costs.Households are facing the highest bills in three years with worse to come this winter.Miatta Fahnbulleh was confronted with the claim that political choices to subsidise renewables are to blame for soaring prices rather than the Iran war.'No, so it is both, we have to be honest,' she replied in a radio interview.Andy Burnham also conceded rising bills are 'difficult for people'. The Prime Minister has already announced plans to remove VAT from electricity bills, which will take effect in October, but that £45 annual saving will be wiped out by a 4 per cent increase in the energy price cap announced yesterday by watchdog Ofgem.It will see the average annual dual fuel bill rise from October to £1,723, the highest level since 2023. This follows a 13 per cent increase in the price cap from July to September.Neil Kenward, Ofgem's director for markets, said: 'High international gas prices are continuing to drive energy costs in the UK.'We welcome the Government's intervention to remove VAT from electricity bills, without which customers would have faced even higher costs this winter.' Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh admitted that political choices to subsidise renewables share the blame alongside international conflicts for soaring energy prices The Prime Minister has already announced plans to remove VAT from electricity bills, which will take effect in OctoberMs Fahnbulleh, who replaced Ed Miliband as Energy Secretary last month, said that Britain 'absolutely' needs to upgrade its energy infrastructure.She added: 'Irrespective of the transition on Net Zero, we've got to upgrade our grid because that's the thing that ensures that the system is operating.'In another interview, she denied Tory claims the Government's green strategy is adding hundreds of pounds to bills because so much money is going into wind and solar power. 'It's simply not true,' she told Sky News.'When I talk about clean power it is, yes, good for the environment, but it's absolutely critical to deliver bills that are more affordable because it breaks that link to global fossil fuel markets.'Experts are already forecasting another 9 per cent jump in January that could push the price cap up another £149 to reach £1,872.Tory energy spokesman Claire Coutinho said: 'Labour promised to cut energy bills by £300, but since the election, they have gone up by nearly £400 instead.'Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch added: 'Energy bills are going up because Labour is ducking tough decisions.'
