The Conservative party has stormed to a majority in the UK's general election results, erasing the threat of Labour's radical proposed energy market reforms.
The Tory party defied recent opinion polls which suggested one of the closest elections in a generation to gain almost 100 seats more than the Labour party, which had proposed a raft of reform measures for the energy industry including retail price intervention.
The final results of the election are yet to be confirmed but shortly after 02.30 on Friday morning the updated exit polls show the Conservatives at 326 seats, while Labour languishes at 230, and the Liberal Democrats at a heavily reduced 8 seats.
The Conservative’s relatively restrained energy pledges may come as a relief to the energy industry which was poised to defend itself against the heavy scrutiny of the Labour party, and the uncertainty of a hung parliament.
But the result is expected to raise concern for those actively involved in the development of onshore wind, which the Tories have said will receive no further subsidy. Environmentalists may also be concerned over the Conservative’s strong support for shale gas development.
The industry as a whole will still need to face the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) but, unlike the Labour party, the Conservatives have committed to upholding its recommendations.
In summary the Conservatives have made the following pledges to the energy sector:
• The Conservatives have promised to
“halt the spread” on onshore wind by removing all new subsidies for the technology, as well as changing the law to give local communities the final say on whether the developments receive planning permission. Despite this, they say they will support “good value” green energy, and that there will be a “significant expansion” of new nuclear and gas generation.
• The Tory’s reaffirmed the prime minister’s 2014 commitment to “go all out for shale gas” by promising to continue the support for the safe development of shale gas.
• The party outlined its plans to support “low cost energy efficiency measures”, and aims to insulated more than 1 million homes over the next five years.
The election results will be confirmed later today.
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