Our plan to slash your energy bills

Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, has backed the Liberal Democrats’ plans for an 'Essential Energy Guarantee'.

His comments came after it was revealed that more than 4,500 households in the constituency are living in fuel poverty. 

The Lib Dem scheme would see every household receive a basic energy allowance, equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption, at a discounted rate, helping with the cost of everyday essential energy needs such as heating, lighting and running medical equipment.  

This is the latest part of a package of policies put forward by the Liberal Democrats: ensuring all new homes are zero carbon, a new home insulation upgrade programme, breaking the link between electricity and gas prices and removing the renewables obligation levy.

Overall, the party's plans would halve energy bills for families in the next decade. 

According to House of Commons Library data, 4,645 households in Taunton and Wellington are in fuel poverty, struggling to afford their most basic energy needs.

This intervention would save the average household £100 a year, while the poorest 20% would save an average of £140.

Families would receive extra allowances for children, and the most vulnerable - such as people with disabilities or on the lowest incomes would receive the discounted rate on all their energy use.

The scheme will be funded by clawing back some of the £5 billion in unexpected windfall profits from monopoly energy network operators.

Gideon said: “The fact that over 4,500 households in Taunton and Wellington have to worry about whether they can afford to pay their energy bills is part of a national scandal.

"The short-term solutions government have offered to date simply don’t go far enough and show there’s no strategy to help people with these bills.

"Our Liberal Democrat plan for an Essential Energy Guarantee would be a permanent measure saving average households in our area £100 a year.

"Giant monopoly energy companies have been using the system to generate around £5 billion in excess profits since 2021.

“It is right they should contribute £2.5 billion in windfall taxes to help out households struggling with the surge in prices over recent years.

“Having proposed the policy motion at our conference to commit the Lib Dems to halving energy bills within a decade, I am delighted we are now setting out in detail one of the first stages of reaching that goal.”