CBI AND ENERGY UK URGE BURNHAM TO CUT GREEN LEVIES ON BUSINESS BILLS

The Confederation of British Industry and Energy UK published a joint report calling on Andy Burnham to remove green levies from business energy bills. According to the two organisations, Britain's electricity prices sit 45 per cent above the G7 average and function as a drag on economic growth. The report, compiled with analysis from Cornwall Insight and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, suggests that stripping green levies could reduce costs by a fifth and deliver a £130 billion boost to the economy by 2050.

Smaller firms face immediate pressure from high energy costs, with retailers, food and drink producers and hospitality businesses particularly vulnerable. Official price data shows Britain's electricity prices have contributed to sluggish productivity growth since 2008 and put firms at a competitive disadvantage. Recent conflict in the Middle East has worsened the situation, with the UK's reliance on imported gas pushing factory costs to their fastest pace since Black Wednesday. The report identifies decades of government policy loading net-zero transition costs onto electricity bills and recommends scrapping the renewables obligation scheme from 2002 and removing a two-decade-old levy on electricity generated outside the UK.

The CBI and Energy UK propose that lost revenue from these changes should be recouped through general taxation or a public fund. According to the organisations, eight in ten small and medium-sized enterprise owners already harbour concerns about what a Burnham government means for their business. Energy UK's chief executive, Dhara Vyas, stated that energy is an essential service underpinning both daily life and economic growth. The recommendations represent a direct appeal to the incoming administration on one of business's foremost priorities.