It should have been and should be patently obvious that subsidy regimes are largely counter productive, but such is the power of self-righteous, environmental correctness – which is the modern face of fascism – that many more jobs will be lost and much more tax-payer’s money squandered before sanity will prevail again. Further job losses in the UK were announced by Tata Steel just as the government announced plans to triple the burden on consumers for further nonsense subsidies for “green” power.
Tata Steel – largely due to the energy cost levels in the UK – is to cut 900 jobs, including “the loss of 500 jobs at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot-based production hub in South Wales”. A year ago they were forced to cut 1500 jobs in the North of England and the Spectator wrote then:
Ten days ago, Tata (formerly British Steel) announced that it was to cut more than1,500 jobs at plants in Scunthorpe and on Teeside. The directors later confirmed that their decision was influenced, in part, by the introduction of a costly carbon floor price at the last Budget. …….
In a joint report, the Energy Intensive Users Group and the Trades Unions Council have warned that:
‘If the Government continues simply to add one energy or carbon reduction levy after another on to the energy intensive sectors then the risk is that these industries will no longer be able to compete internationally and will simply cease to operate in the UK.’
Lobbying falls on deaf ears in parliament because of the near total political consensus that Britain should lead the world in tackling climate change.
And just as if to rub it in the UK Government has just announced its new Energy Bill where the amount to be charged to each consumer for subsiding “green” waste is set to treble!!
The Guardian: Energy deal means bills will rise to pay for green power
Energy firms will be allowed to triple the amount of money they add to customers’ bills to pay for renewable power, nuclear and other environmental measures, under plans to be announced by the government next week.
The deal over a new energy bill, struck after weeks of sometimes bitter negotiations between the coalition partners, will mean the total amount energy suppliers can add to domestic and business bills will rise from £2.35bn this year to nearly £10bn at the end of this decade. Adjusting for inflation that would be worth £7.6bn in today’s prices, an increase of nearly three times.
Based on government estimates that green measures make up £20 of the average domestic gas and electricity bill of £1,249 a year, the cost of increasing the cash set aside to pay for renewable investment would rise to about £80, or £60 adjusted for inflation.
Energy Live predicts further trouble ahead:
The impact of the today’s Energy Bill announcement could be “catastrophic” for businesses in the UK.
Energy Forecaster, an online site that provides insight into the future of business energy, said if the increased energy costs for domestic consumers announced by DECC is applied to firms, it will seriously affect businesses. …….
James Constant, Chair of EnergyForecaster.co.uk said: “The impact of these increased costs will be a serious concern for businesses if it is applied to them. While the exact rise to business energy bills is currently unknown, we predict the Energy Bill will continually push bills up for businesses over the next decade. Our most recent Business Energy Barometer showed that as many as up to 300,000 companies could go out of business if energy bills continue to rise by 15%/annum, which looks increasingly likely due to these increases. …..
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy said: “…… However, the fact remains that any additional cost on top of the hikes already seen will be unaffordable for many consumers. The average household energy bill today is already £1,334 a year and this is hurting people.”
Tags: Department of Energy and Climate Change, environmental fascism, green subsidies and job losses, Tata Steel, vlimate change
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