An earlier draft of the Energy Security Strategy, drafted by Undersecretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng and adopted by i, included measures to increase the 200 200 energy discount to “£ 500 or more” for all households or homes with poor fuel. However, the policy recommendation was rejected by the Ministry of Finance, despite growing fears within the government about the damage that growing energy bills would cause to household budgets. An alternative proposal was to delay the repayment of the energy discount or to extend the repayment period for either all households or the poorer ones. The same was a policy proposal to exempt the poorest homes from the obligation to return the discount. The decision to block the measures puts further pressure on the Chancellor, who has come under constant criticism from his own lawmakers over the support package he proposed in his spring statement on cramped households last month. It comes despite Boris Johnson claiming that his energy strategy released last night would allow the UK to “enjoy greater energy self-sufficiency with cheaper bills”. According to the document, which dates from March 2022 and is described as “officially sensitive”, Beis officials have submitted three proposals under measures entitled “helping consumers manage energy bills”. The document states: “We could strengthen the recently announced discount regime. There are three options: a) Increase the amount of the discount, e.g. b) Delay the point at which the discount should be refunded and / or extend the repayment period – again either for everyone or by targeting poor fuels. (c) Exemption of at least certain households with poor fuel from all or part of the repayment. “ Excerpt from the draft of the leaked energy strategy Officials briefed on key details of the integrated energy strategy Wednesday night, but none of those measures were part of it. The final strategy paper is expected to be released later on Thursday. The Politico news website reported last month that the discount could be doubled, but leaked documents revealed that the proposal was to go from £ 200 to £ 500 “or more”. The document also reveals that plans to dramatically increase the level of terrestrial wind have been scrapped, while proposals to boost energy from onshore wind farms to 45 GW by 2035 have been scrapped altogether. The document states: “Land-based wind energy is currently the second cheapest form of electricity generation. “Growth could reach 30 GW capacity by 2030… and accelerate to 45 GW capacity by 2035, as required, if the policy proposals outlined below and supporting government announcements are promoted.” Boris Johnson warned that any push for a significant increase in land winds would spark a major uprising among his followers and abandon plans. Similarly, the Prime Minister was warned of proposals for a substantial increase in the amount of solar energy, by relaxing the planning rules to allow the installation of more solar parks. The policy paper suggested that the UK could achieve up to 50 GW of capacity by 2030 and 70 GW by 2035 using “ground-mounted” solar panels. However, supporters of the Tories warned that it would risk further unrest in the Commons, amid fears that it would devastate the UK countryside. The draft says: “Large-scale solar energy is the cheapest form of electricity generation… If the government promoted the vast majority of options and showed clear support for technology through a communication effort, then achieving up to 50 GW of capacity by 2030 and “70 GW by 2035 seems reasonable.” The energy plan has been repeatedly delayed due to internal disputes between Whitehall’s departments, with the Treasury Department vetoing huge areas of proposals. The publication was delayed until the last hours as Bey, No. 10 and the Ministry of Finance disagreed on its content. Treasury Secretary Shadow Pat McFadden called on the chancellor to introduce an unexpected tax to save people 600 600 from their energy bills. “Instead, waste time on a loan with an inconvenient purchase plan now, pay later, and now it seems to have stood in the way again of any real action to address the cost-of-living crisis,” McFadden said. Contact the Ministry of Finance for comments.
