DECC Fined Record £10.5bn by Ofgov

From the BBC:

Energy department DECC has been fined £10.5bn by the regulator Ofgov for mis-selling alternatives to gas and electricity.

The fine is the largest ever imposed on a government department by Ofgov. In its statement, Ofgov said DECC, formerly known as the Department for Energy, was guilty of management failures that led to "prolonged and extensive" mis-selling.

DECC are contesting the fine, saying that windmills and solar panels are vital to meeting our Rio obligations, or something.

The mis-selling related to speeches, manifestos, adverts and press releases, Ofgov said. It said voters contacted by DECC were exposed to misleading statements, inaccurate and misleading information on green energy production, and misleading comparisons between the cost of alternative energies and carbon production.

Some voters were told they would get cheaper energy, when in fact, they would be paying more. In one example, a recent report talked about the "savings from green energy". This was found to be inaccurate and misleading.

Other examples of misleading action included:

• Telling people that windmills can generate power, without mentioning that it's peak production and that due to variability, you also need massive backup supplies
• Cherry picking the range of years used for talking about how often the Thames Barrier had risen to try to exaggerate the effects of climate change.
• Showing An Inconvenient Truth in schools despite it containing factual inaccuracies.