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UtILItY WEEK | 13th - 19th March 2015 | 13 E l E ct i o n c o u n td o w n : 5 4 d ay s to g o "We must ensure we deliver to future generations a planet that can sustain them as it sustains us." Maria Eagle, shadow environment secretary, (Labour) "Energy security and resilience doesn't just hap- pen by accident. Planning to make it happen is meticulous." Ed Davey, energy secretary (Lib Dem) "As so often with the environment, it's the dull things that work. Fix that dripping tap. Get a water butt. Have a shorter shower." Caroline Lucas MP (Green) Quote me utility wEEk lobby poll trackEr 6 Mar 2015 – yougov poll party share change (from 27 Feb) Conservatives 34% 0 Labour 33% -1 Lib Dems 8% 0 Ukip 15% +1 Green 5% 0 Other 5% 0 On the stump Liz Truss, environment secretary (Con) In the first in a series of Lobby columns, front rank politicians set out their stalls in the pages of Utility Week. In partnership with: Next week: Ownership and tax B ecause utility services are essential, utility companies have a special obligation to behave responsibly and provide the highest levels of service and best value for money. We inherited from Labour a broken energy market which we have been work- ing hard to fix. As part of this we have introduced a new annual competition test, carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority. It is currently undertak- ing a review of the energy market which will report in late 2015 – if it considers it nec- essary, it has the power to reform and restructure the market . Over the past few months we have seen a steady fall in the price of oil and whole- sale energy prices on the international markets. We are starting to see companies pass on these cost reductions to con- sumers, with many companies already announcing a cut in bills of 5 per cent. We have been clear that other energy firms must follow suit and pass on the savings they are now making. The fact that energy bills are falling only serves to highlight the chaos that has now engulfed Labour's policy to freeze energy prices. Before wholesale prices were falling, it was clear bills would go up before their freeze and aer it. Now prices are falling it would keep bills artificially high. Even worse, experts have said bills would be even lower today, and in fact would have been cut by around 7 per cent at the end of 2014, were it not for the uncertainty and the concern over the potential effects of Labour's policy. As a government, we have also worked to bring down the costs of energy for con- sumers. By cutting green taxes and levies, we have brought down the cost of the average energy bill by £50. We have also legislated to make sure households get the help they need to access the cheapest tariffs offered by the energy companies. For those who are elderly and vulner- able, a £140 discount is available on their electricity payments and the Conservative Party, having protected winter fuel and cold weather payments during this Parlia- ment, has committed to doing so again in the next Parliament. We want to see energy companies continue to pass on the benefits of falling wholesale prices. But our action has not just been related to energy companies, and since 2010 we have worked to improve the performance of the water industry. The Water Act 2014 will reform the water industry to make it more innovative and customer-focused. For the first time, businesses, charities and public sector customers will have the freedom to switch supplier. This, and other market reforms, will benefit the economy by some £2 bil- lion over the next 30 years. Under Labour, average water bills increased by more than 20 per cent. That is why we were pleased that for 2015-20 Ofwat set water bills to fall by around 5 per cent. This will not come at the expense of investment, with companies pledging to invest £43 billion in new infrastructure and better services for customers. This compares to what was agreed in 2009 under Labour, which meant only £25 bil- lion was invested during this Parliament. We have worked with the water indus- try so that companies do more to improve their governance, including by increasing the number of independent people who sit on their boards, and redouble their efforts to tackle unpaid water bills. There has been much discussion recently about social tariffs. Eight water companies have these in place and a fur- ther seven are proposing schemes. But we recognise that a mandatory social tariff, of the kind proposed by Labour, is not the answer. Such a top-down measure would fail to take account of different circum- stances in different areas of the country. The next Conservative government will continue to work to make sure utility companies invest in new infrastructure and deliver the best customer service and value for money, while ensuring meas- ures to tackle climate change do not lead to bills being forced up. We want to see energy and water bills kept as low as pos- sible for hardworking taxpayers. "We inherited froM LABoUr A BroKEN energy MArKET"