"Energy bill to boost energy bills"

From the BBC:

The government's draft energy bill, designed to encourage major increases in electricity bills, could result in higher consumer bills, critics have said.

But Energy Secretary Ed Davey told the BBC these did not amount to increases in the cost of domestic fuel. He said bills will be even higher when the next set of measures are introduced.

The government needs to increase billing capacity to compensate generators for the loss of income from the closure of a number of coal and nuclear plants, and to reduce their reliance on actually providing electricity.

"We need to make sure the bias towards lower profits is dealt with... and that inefficient generators can enjoy playing on an unlevel playing field," Mr Davey said. "With nuclear capacity and coal capacity coming offline, we need a market structure to keep the lights on in the homes of power company executives. To cover their salary and bonuses, we need to give investors certainty that will lower the cost of capital. There will be no blank cheque for power companies - unless we give them one."