Ed Miliband ‘to hit Brits with £100 boiler tax’ in new heat pumps plot | Politics | News
Brits are set for a big increase in the price of replacement boilers as Ed Miliband is accused of putting more financial pressure on families. The policy means it will be around £100 more expensive to update a device, as the energy minister urges homeowners to buy heat pumps instead. The government requires manufacturers to sell at least six heat pumps for every 92 boilers sold. Otherwise firms will be fined £500 per heat pump they fail to flog.
It is thought that the costs will be passed on to customers who will then pay higher prices. It was reported that the 8 percent pump quota for the UK’s four largest boiler companies, Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal and Baxi, was not equal to the current demand, so financial penalties were considered inevitable. Around 1.4 million gas boilers are installed in Britain each year.
Mike Foster, president of the Energy Services Alliance, said: Telegram He said the move “introduces additional and unnecessary costs to the consumer when replacing their boiler.”
“It penalizes those who cannot afford a heat pump, those whose homes are not suitable for heat pumps or those who do not want them,” he added.
Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho warned: “Targets and penalties will become even more punitive in the coming years, putting more pressure on families who can least afford it.”
The government said on Thursday it was “focused on ensuring heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies are the natural consumer choice, in line with our broader approach to driving the clean energy transition through incentives rather than penalties.”
“This builds on the warm homes discount that will reduce bills for six million families this winter,” ministers added.
Earlier in the month, Ms Coutinho said that instead of insisting that people buy electric cars and heat pumps to meet the Government’s target, the Conservative Party would “address the underlying issue of electrification, which is that our electricity is too expensive”.
The shadow minister added that he would scrap the carbon tax on electricity generation, which “does nothing but add extra cost to our bills”.
He also promised to end subsidies under the renewable liability subsidy scheme, arguing that the consumer “will not be able to pay three times the market price for electricity”.
“Now these two policies alone will provide a 20% discount on electricity bills, not just for six million homes or 100 schools, that is their policy,” Ms Coutinho said.
“But for everyone. I think it’s up to them what the country does with this cheap electricity.”
