Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his statement of 2 December 2013, Official Report, column 628, on energy bills, what the evidential basis is for the statement that changes to the energy company obligation will result in a reduction in bills of between £30 and £35.
Answer
The Government has previously modelled and estimated the costs to energy suppliers of delivering the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme to be around £1.3 billion per year, or around £50 of the typical domestic dual fuel bill. However, energy suppliers make their own assumptions about the costs of delivery which they rely on when making pricing decisions. The £30 to £35 cut in bills from proposed changes to ECO is an estimate of the savings that companies have indicated they will be able to make. DECC will publish an analytical assessment alongside the consultation on the proposed changes to the scheme.