DECC polling shows people still worried about energy bills

Wednesday 11th July 2012

According to new survey figures, the rising cost of energy is still a major concern in the UK, keeping energy bills high on the political agenda. But efforts by some to attempt to blame higher consumer energy bills on renewables subsidies - ignoring rising gas prices - don't seem to have resonated with the public.

Research company TNS UK interviewed 2,121 people about energy and climate issues during March this year for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)'s Public Attitudes Survey. The idea was to guage how the public sees what DECC calls it's main 'business priorities' - goals such as energy efficiency, improving the UK's energy infrastructure and increasing the amount we generate from low carbon sources.

The results show that despite high profile media campaigns against so called green taxes, 79% of people surveyed support renewable energy for providing electricity, fuel and heat. The result appears to back up a poll - initially commissioned by the Sunday Times - from last year that shows 56% of people asked want to see more investment in onshore wind and other forms of renewable power.

It's also clear that energy bills are a big concern for many, 19% of those asked said they were very worried about paying their energy bills over the past three months, while 37% were fairly worried.

It is clear from the survey that both Energy companies and the Government need to be more transparent about energy pricing and empower consumers with information to help them gain greater control of their consumption. As highlighted in the DECC survey much works still needs to be done on this.

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