• Research Briefing

    Green Levies and Energy Bills

    On Thursday 5 December George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons, setting out the state of UK finances and detailing new economic policy. One issue that the Chancellor is expected to talk about is green levies on energy bills.

  • Research Briefing

    The Water Bill and water affordability

    On Monday 25 November MPs will debate the Water Bill, a major piece of legislation that will reform the water sector and have implications for customer bills and the environment. Amongst other things, the Bill will enable all non-household customers to choose their water and sewerage supplier and enable more companies to provide water and

  • Research Briefing

    Water Bill

    This briefing is prepared for MPs and their staff to aid in their scrutiny of the Water Bill 2013 at its Second Reading on 25 November 2013. It provides briefing on key issues; additional briefing is available to MPs and their staff upon request.

  • Research Briefing

    Nuclear power

    On 21 October the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change announced that agreement had been reached with EDF to build the UK's first new nuclear power station since Sizewell B was commissioned in 1995.

  • Research Briefing

    Nuclear energy statistics

    The UK had the first civilian nuclear power station in the world and increased its nuclear output for most of the latter half of the twentieth century. The last nuclear power station to be built in the UK started operating in 1995. Since then output has fallen as some older power stations have been decommissioned. The UK now has among the lowest share of generation from nuclear of all countries with nuclear power. Some aging nuclear power stations have had their operating life extended, but the majority are due to close over the next decade. No new nuclear capacity is due to come online until around 2020. One consequence of being a pioneer of civil nuclear power is large ongoing financial liability for decommissioning old power stations and managing nuclear waste.

  • Research Briefing

    Warm Front Scheme

    The Warm Front scheme in England was a programme designed to help vulnerable households, including those in fuel poverty, to benefit from energy efficiency improvements such as home heating and loft insulation measures. It has now been replaced by the Green Deal.

  • Research Briefing

    Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP)

    The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) is a three-year obligation on major energy suppliers and generators to offer free or low cost energy efficiency measures to communities in certain low income areas. It ran from 1 September 2009 to December 2012.

  • Research Briefing

    Simplifying Energy Tariffs

    The energy regulator Ofgem has finalised its proposals for simplifying energy tariffs, while retaining competition in the GB energy supply market. The Government is also taking 'backstop' powers in the current Energy Bill on tariffs.

  • Research Briefing

    Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT)

    The Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) placed a five year obligation on gas and electricity suppliers to reduce carbon emissions in the household sector through energy efficiency improvements. It ran from April 2008 - December 2012.

  • Research Briefing

    Thorium energy

    Thorium is an element which, with the right technology, can be used as a fuel for nuclear power. It is claimed to have a range of advantages over uranium including greater abundance, lower radiotoxicity waste, safer operation and weapons proliferation resistance – although some of these are disputed.

  • Research Briefing

    Heating oil and other off-gas grid heating

    This note sets out the regulation of the off-gas grid energy market, and possible sources of support for those who live off the gas grid and have to rely on other fuels such as heating oil or LPG to heat their homes.

Total results (page 22 of 28)