News

Typical bills could rise from over £1000 per household to over £2000 to meet needs for investment.

Kent Green Party spokesman Steve Dawe warned: “Pensioners and all others on low, fixed incomes are very vulnerable to increased energy prices.

"Years of under-investment mean that the UK is behind virtually all other countries in Europe in relation to its introduction of electricity from renewable sources. And our fuel poverty record is almost uniquely bad amongst industrialised countries..

"Around 30,000 people die of the cold each year in the UK and about 800-900 of them in Kent and Medway. As yet the Government does not have a programme to ensure all housing is made energy efficient. The Nuclear Industry has admitted it cannot proceed to build new Nuclear power stations without Government money, and the dream of a revived coal industry has effectively died with the postponement of Kingsnorth due to uncertainties about factors such as future carbon costs and emissions trading rules. So now Government has no choice but to fully embrace a future based on energy efficiency and renewables.

“The good news is that renewable energy obtained more investment globally in 2008 than fossil fuels, for the first time ever. Efforts to bring both homes and empty commercial properties back into use in Kent and Medway can mean more housing and better energy efficiency. But our local councils need the resources to ensure all homes are properly insulated, as a top priority.”