Utility Week

8 | 29TH NOVEMBER - 5TH DECEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Election 2019 Manifestos at a glance – standout pledges from the parties CONSERVATIVES • Keep the existing energy price cap; • Introduce "new measures to lower bills"; • Give the Competition and Markets Authority enhanced powers to tackle "consumer rip-offs and bad business practices"; • Extend the rebate on water bills for households in the South West; • Consult "on the earliest date" for phasing out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars, while "minimising the impact on drivers and businesses"; • Invest £1bn in completing a fast-charging network so that all households are within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehi- cle (EV) charging station; • Prioritise decarbonisation schemes, new flood defences, a battery "gigafactory", clean energy and EV infrastructure in the first post-election Budget; • Support gas for hydrogen production and nuclear energy as "important parts of the energy system"; • Increase the output of the UK's "world-leading" offshore wind industry to 40GW by 2030; • Enable new floating wind farms; • Invest £9.2bn in improving the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals; • Invest £800m in transport and stor- age infrastructure in order to establish carbon sapture and storage clusters in the next decade. LABOUR • Treat energy and water as "rights rather than commodities"; • Nationalise supply arms of the big six as well as energy networks, National Grid and water companies; • Public-owned energy suppliers will have remit to help households to reduce their energy consumption; • National Grid will be turned into a new UK National Energy Agency, with remit to over- see the delivery of decarbonisation targets; • 14 new Regional Energy Agencies will replace existing district network operators with statutory responsibilities for decarbonising electricity and heat as well as reducing fuel poverty; • Achieve a "substantial majority" of carbon emissions reductions by 2030; • Generate 90 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030; • Half of all heat from renewable and low-car- bon sources by the end of the next decade; • Roll out technologies like heat pumps and hydrogen, while investing in district heat networks; • Back nuclear power, including the delivery of a new plant on Ynys Mon following the collapse of Hitachi's plans at Wylfa; • Trial and expand tidal energy, like the Swan- sea Bay project; LIB DEMS • Achievement zero by "2045 at the latest" when emissions from hard-to-treat sectors are phased out; • Emergency programme to cut emissions "sub- stantially" over the next ten-years; • Increase government expenditure on climate and the environment to "at least 5 per cent" of the total within five years; • Generate "at least 80 per cent" of electricity from renewable sources by 2030; • Remove existing restrictions on the roll out of solar and wind power; • Provide additional £12bn over five years to support tidal and wave power, energy storage, demand response, smart grids and hydrogen; • Boost energy interconnectors with neighbour- ing countries; • Establish a Department for Climate Change and Natural Resources; • Appoint a cabinet-level Chief Secretary for Sustainability in the Treasury to co-ordinate government-wide action on climate change; Brexit Party A "political revolution" is promised by the Brexit Party, which opts for a "Contract With The Peo- ple" instead of a "manifesto". • Leave the EU and develop a clean-break Brexit; • Abolish the House of Lords and reform the Supreme Court; • Reform the voting system; • Make the Civil Service more accountable to the public; • Regional regeneration; • Scrap HS2 and invest in digital infrastructure; • Plant millions of trees to capture CO2; • Invest in the NHS and social care; • Zero rate VAT on domestic fuel; • Exempt from Corporation Tax companies with pre-profit tax of less than £50,000; • Provide transitional relief to key sec- tors such as the automotive industry, to ensure a smooth Brexit; • Create Freeports in cer- tain regions to encour- age investment and create new jobs; • Scrap the Apprentice Levy; • Change the funding model to make it easier for councils to borrow from central government to build houses. Invest £1bn in completing a fast-charging network so that all households are within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehi- cle (EV) charging station; Prioritise decarbonisation schemes, new flood defences, a battery "gigafactory", clean energy and EV infrastructure in the first post-election Support gas for hydrogen production and nuclear energy as "important parts of the energy system"; Increase the output of the UK's "world-leading" offshore wind industry to 40GW by 2030; Enable new floating wind farms; Invest £9.2bn in improving the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals; Invest £800m in transport and stor- age infrastructure in order to establish carbon sapture and storage clusters in the next decade. • Leave the EU and develop a clean-break Brexit; • Abolish the House of Lords and reform the Supreme Court; • Reform the voting system; • Make the Civil Service more accountable to the public; • Regional regeneration; • Scrap HS2 and invest in digital infrastructure; • Plant millions of trees to capture CO2; • Invest in the NHS and social care; • Zero rate VAT on domestic fuel; • Exempt from Corporation Tax companies with pre-profit tax of less than £50,000; • Provide transitional relief to key sec tors such as the automotive industry, to ensure a smooth Brexit; • Create Freeports in cer tain regions to encour age investment and create new jobs; • Scrap the Apprentice Levy; • Change the funding model to make it easier for councils to borrow from central government to build houses. National Energy Agency, with remit to over- see the delivery of decarbonisation targets; 14 new Regional Energy Agencies will replace statutory responsibilities for decarbonising electricity and heat as well as reducing fuel Achieve a "substantial majority" of carbon Half of all heat from renewable and low-car- bon sources by the end of the next decade; Roll out technologies like heat pumps and Back nuclear power, including the delivery Trial and expand tidal energy, like the Swan- Boris Johnson Nigel Farage

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