In a speech yesterday at the Fair Energy Summit 2012, Ed Davey said:

I don’t want to add a penny to energy bills that isn’t in the public interest.

I am frankly fed up with commentators suggesting that the Government is deliberately increasing energy bills, when in fact we are doing everything we can to reduce them.

As the independent Committee on Climate Change has confirmed, energy bills could be significantly higher in the coming decades if we do nothing to decarbonise the power sector.

Yes, our climate goals are extremely important.  But I also want people to understand that, over time, our low-carbon policies are intended to keep bills down, not to increase them.

We also place obligations on energy companies in order to improve energy efficiency.  Again, this contributes to that 7% on the average energy bill now, but over time, as the energy efficiency of our building stock is improved, it will help reduce bills, with customers saving money as their homes or businesses require less energy to heat and power.

As a result, taking all Government energy and climate change policies combined, when we look forward to 2020, we estimate that, on average, household energy bills will be lower, not higher, than they would have been without our policies.

You can read the full text of the speech here.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.