Liz Truss’s energy bailout: key points at a glance
Liz Truss has promised freeze energy bills at an average of £2,500 a year for the next two years from 1 October under the “energy price guarantee”, replacing the existing Ofgem energy price cap which was due to reach £3,549 from 1 October. The freeze includes the temporary removal of green levies on household bills, worth about £150.
The government said the measure will save the average household about £1,000 a year and is in addition to the £400 of support for all households announced by the former chancellor Rishi Sunak earlier this year.
Households who do not pay directly for mains gas and electricity such as those living in park homes, using heating oil or on heat networks will not be worse off and said they would receive personal support through a separate fund.
Businesses and public sector organisations will be offered a new-six month scheme offering “equivalent support” with limited detail, which is expected to be an intervention to subsidise the wholesale price of gas. A review will take place in three months’ time to consider whether the scheme should become more targeted.
A new oil and gas licensing round will be launched as early as next week, expected to lead to more than 100 new licences.
There will be a lift on the moratorium on the production of UK shale gas production. “This will enable developers to seek planning permission where there is local support, which could get gas flowing in as soon as six months,” the government said.
The government has decided to publish the British Geological Survey’s report into fracking, which was commissioned by the then business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, earlier this year. The study suggests “more drilling is required to establish data on shale resources and seismic impacts”,
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