Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
Chancellor George Osborne has announced he will abolish the “bureaucratic and burdensome” carbon reduction commitment (CRC) and raise the climate change levy (CCL) from 2019 to compensate.
In his eighth Budget, Osborne pledged to abolish the CRC energy efficiency scheme with effect from the end of the 2018/19 compliance year.
“It’s not a commitment; it’s a tax,” he said. “So I can tell the House: we’re not going to reform it. Instead I have decided to abolish it altogether.”
He said the Treasury would increase the main rates of the CCL from 1 April 2019 to “cover the cost of CRC abolition in a fiscally-neutral reform”.
A document published after the speech said: “The increases in CCL main rates from 2019 to 2020 recoup revenue lost from the abolition of CRC and strengthen the incentive for businesses with the greatest potential to save energy.”
Also in his hour-long speech, Osborne confirmed £730 million would be made available for the next Contracts for Difference auction to help support renewables.
The Budget document said: “The government is committed to driving down the costs of decarbonisation.
“Budget 2016 announces that the government will auction Contracts for Difference of up to £730 million this Parliament for up to 4GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables, with a first auction of £290 million.”
It added that support for offshore wind will be capped initially at £105/MWh (in 2011-12 prices), falling to £85/MWh for projects commissioning by 2026.
“The government will continue to control costs on consumer bills – further details will be announced in the autumn,” it said.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.