Further written evidence reported to the House
Energy Bill
10:40 am
Andrew Lee: Perhaps I could respond to that. In the Sustainable Development Commission, we think a big missed opportunity in this Energy Bill is the opportunity to change the framework within which Ofgem operates, and we think that has to start from the issue of the primary duty. At the moment, sustainability, or the climate change imperative, is a sub-duty of a sub-duty in the way Ofgem works. We would like to see a change in the primary duty as we think that is the keystone on which a changed approach from Ofgem could be built in the future.
We have put forward two options in our report and the first is to put the current consumer interest and the greenhouse gas duty one above the other. The other option, which in some ways is the more pure sustainability option is to say that these should be joint objectives and that the regulator should be required to deliver a regulated energy market in the interest of consumers while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the network. Out of that flows a series of other things, including what is a key issue for us—creating a regulated heat market. We think there is a huge missed opportunity that Ofgem can and should deliver.
Related to that is the issue of Ofgem in relation to the price of energy, smart metering and trying to create an environment in which consumers are well informed about their energy use and are able to make informed choices and in which low-income consumers do not pay through the nose for energy because of the tariff structure.