The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has joined a broad coalition of businesses, consumer groups, charities, energy companies and industry bodies in calling on the Chancellor to reduce electricity costs by moving policy levies from household and business electricity bills to general taxation.
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In a joint letter to the Chancellor, signatories warn that the UK faces some of the highest electricity prices in the developed world, with prices standing around 45% above the G7 median. They argue that high and unstable energy prices are holding back investment, worsening cost-of-living pressures and acting as a barrier to the electrification of heat, transport, homes and businesses.
The letter calls for electricity levies to be shifted from both domestic and non-domestic bills to the Exchequer, a move it says could lower business electricity prices by up to 20%, reduce average domestic energy bills by as much as £250 a year, and save a typical electrically heated household up to £420 annually.
ECA’s support for the letter builds on its Blueprint for Electrification: Delivering the UK’s Transition to Clean Power, published last year, which set out a ten-point roadmap for accelerating electrification across the UK. The Blueprint identified high electricity prices as a major barrier to the uptake of low-carbon technologies, alongside the need for stronger workforce capacity, policy certainty, grid and planning reform, supportive regulation and improved consumer confidence.
Gary Parker, Deputy Director of Technical at ECA, said:
“The UK cannot deliver electrification at the pace required while electricity remains disproportionately expensive. Electrical contractors are ready to deliver the clean technologies that will power homes, businesses and infrastructure, but high electricity costs continue to undermine consumer confidence and investment.
“Moving levies from electricity bills to the Exchequer would be a practical and immediate step towards making electrification more affordable, competitive and attractive. As ECA’s Blueprint for Electrification made clear, the transition to clean power will only succeed if government tackles the barriers facing the businesses and skilled electricians who will deliver it.”
The coalition letter says cheaper electricity would help households access lower and more stable bills over the long term, support UK manufacturers and businesses to compete internationally, and make better use of homegrown clean power by reducing reliance on volatile international gas markets.
ECA has consistently argued that electrification is essential to achieving the UK’s net zero, energy security and economic growth ambitions. Its Blueprint report highlighted the central role of competent, qualified electricians in delivering clean technologies such as solar PV, battery storage, EV charging infrastructure, heat pumps and smart energy systems.
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