The boss of Britain’s chemical industry has reacted with dismay to the latest government proposals on supply of electricity. Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association said “I know this is not easy and the government is absolutely right to try and address the “25 years of policy dithering” to help deliver both secure and sustainable energy supply and our climate change commitments.  However, the government is absolutely wrong in ,yet again, refusing to commit publicly to a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of their policies on the very industries, such as chemicals, that will help ensure a prosperous low carbon future for us all”.  

In his attack, Elliott said “the transition to a low carbon economy will not be cheap and will see significant increases in electricity costs.  In confirming that energy bills for businesses are likely to be lower and less volatile over the period to 2030 the Secretary of State is glossing over the fact that energy intensive businesses are facing a doubling of their energy related costs by 2020 – at the very time when it is manufacturing that is leading the country through a very fragile recovery.

There is still time to get this right and for the UK to be an attractive place for businesses to invest. We want to play our part in helping shape this framework and we need the government’s impact assessment to be published urgently as a sign of confidence they are taking this seriously.”

Contact Name: Fiona Ferguson