Eon CEO welcomes pledges on energy and environment

The environment is becoming a “key issue” for voters ahead of the general election next month, Michael Lewis, Eon UK’s chief executive, has said.

Speaking on day one of the official election campaign, Lewis welcomed the elevation of energy efficiency and climate change to the forefront of politics.

Lewis told Utility Week that he was “deliberately not being party-political” when asked which parties had caught his eye.

“I want to be clear that we’ll work with whichever organisation gets into government with a mandate to transform our energy system for the future”, he added.

Specifically Lewis said Eon would rather see the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales brought forward for 2030 but that at least the current date of 2040 shows a “direction of travel”.

Furthermore, Lewis said, the next parliament must “step up to the challenge” and implement new policies to enable action by all sectors to get the country “back on track”.

Lewis said: “We’ve been saying for a number of years that energy efficiency needs to be made a national infrastructure priority and it appears the environment is fast becoming a key issue for voters and thus an area for debate among our political parties.

“We also know that the net economic benefits of investing in energy efficiency are enormous, with £3 of benefit for every £1 invested.

“The next steps are to give people the power to improve their homes to make them as efficient as possible, to switch away from fossil fuels not only in how we heat our homes but also how we fuel our cars.

“That means making millions of homes fit for the 21st century through better insulation, converting to new, cleaner heating systems and ending our reliance on petrol or diesel for transport.”

The big six supplier has also set out its own list of policy measures it would like to see implemented.

These include removing exemptions from the energy company obligation (ECO) or warm home discount for all suppliers, increase the current ECO budget to £2 billion and encourage the adoption of sustainable energy solutions such as heat pumps and solar and storage.

Other measures include:

• Increase the rate of energy efficiency installations from 9,000 to 21,000 per week from 2020
• Winter fuel payments should be targeted on those most in need of help, which Eon believes could free up around £1 billion
• Provide access to low cost green finance to deliver net zero in an affordable way
• Introduce stamp duty reductions or other incentives to home owners who install solid wall insulation
• Incentivise businesses that own their own buildings to invest in energy efficiency via the creation of business rates relief

Lewis also said that the multi-billion-pound investment needed over the next three decades will be “spearheaded by the private sector working in partnership with local and national government”.

He added: “This is because, put simply, investment in clean energy is good for the economy and for employment.

“However, unlocking this opportunity requires a stable framework which is attractive to long-term investors, based on a new partnership between industry and government – which means that good quality companies delivering value for customers should be able to earn a fair return on their investment.

“If we get this right, we can deliver sustainable green growth that encourages innovation and provides high value jobs. We can improve the lives and lifestyles of countless people and save them money in the process and we can relieve some of the burden on our NHS caused by damp and draughty homes or from the toxic air in our city streets.

“The 2020s are undoubtedly a period that needs to be the decade of delivery on climate action.”