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Labour leader Andy Burnham outlines energy bill cuts and wider utilities control
The proposals include cutting household energy bills by an estimated £130 a year, funded through changes to gas charges and the removal of some policy levies at a cost of £3.2 billion per year to the taxpayer.
The incoming Labour prime minister Andy Burnham has set out plans focused on expanding public control of key utilities, with an initial move expected to target Britain’s largest water company, Thames Water, the Guardian Business reports. The outlet notes that there are gaps in the details because there have been no leadership hustings or probing media interviews to date.
Burnham is also understood to be considering measures aimed at lowering household energy costs, including changes to how household gas is charged and the removal of some policy levies from bills. The Guardian Business says those ideas would cost the taxpayer an estimated £3.2 billion per year and are designed to cut household energy bills by about £130 a year, alongside making heat pump running costs cheaper than a gas boiler.
For Thames Water, the outlet says it would be placed into a special form of administration until a buyer is found, after years of strain that have included periods when the company has been on the brink of collapse. It also points to transport policy, including Burnham’s interest in actions informed by the Greater Manchester bus network, which the Guardian says was taken back under public control from private operators.
The Guardian Business adds that speculation is ongoing around potential changes to North Sea drilling plans, including whether the Labour approach would involve new exploration licences or tiebacks that connect offshore fields to existing approved production facilities via pipelines. It says Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged to honor existing exploration licences but not issue new ones, while the article indicates tieback arrangements are being considered.