The government’s energy minister Michael Shanks confirmed today that bringing down bills may “take longer than we would like”.
Labour promised during the 2024 general election campaign that its plan to achieve “clean energy” would save families up to £300 on gas and electricity bills per year by 2030.
That vow has since come under scrutiny, with the Daily Mail reporting last year that No.10 had dropped that election pledge in favour of only promising the bills would be “lower” in the long term.
While announcing plans to ease restrictions around building small nuclear reactors as part of the clean energy plan, Shanks admitted that it may take a while for consumers to see changes in their bills.
He told Times Radio today: “We are working to make sure that bills come down and we’re doing a whole range of things to do that. The clean power system that I’ve outlined.
“But look, I’m going to be really honest about this, where the previous government just wasn’t.
“The long term problems that this country faces cannot be changed overnight.
“The prime minister has been really clear that we are going to take tough decisions, we’re going to take decisive action.
“The impact of that will take longer than we would like. The truth is, I would love to be able to say that we can flick a switch and reduce bills overnight. It’s just not going to happen.”
Presenter Stig Abell asked: “Will they come down by 2030, is that the aim?”
Shanks replied: “Of course it is. That’s what we’ve said, that we want to bring down bills far quicker than that, actually.
“And we’ll do everything we possibly can to make that happen.”
The energy secretary Ed Miliband was also scrutinised over the pledge on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme last December.
He said £300 pledge was “based on independent modelling” and insisted the number had not been “guesswork”.
He said: “What we are doing is laying the foundations for an energy system that will lead to lower bills because the costs of running a system which is largely based on renewables is significantly cheaper than running one based on gas.”
Fact-checking organisation Full Fact found last year that the £300 figure is based on the level of the energy price cap between July and September 2023.
The energy price cap, which is the maximum amount suppliers can charge for each unit of energy is set by regulator, Ofgem.
It changes every three months to reflect changes in wholesale prices due to global factors.