Greens call for big five energy companies to be brought into public ownership

The Green Party co-leader is calling on the government to intervene to prevent an energy price “catastrophe” this winter.

Carla Denyer wants to see the big five energy companies brought into public ownership amid “nationwide anxiety about the prospect of unpayable energy bills”, with costs only expected to spiral.

The Greens say the move would stabilise the market and reduce the cost to the average household by more than £2,000.

The party also wants to see the energy price cap returned to where it was in October last year to protect households from accelerating costs.

“We are seeing nationwide anxiety about the prospect of unpayable energy bills this winter,” says Denyer, who is also a councillor for Clifton Down and parliamentary candidate for Bristol West.

“Other parties have only offered to fix energy prices at current levels, but we know these are already unaffordable. We would return energy prices to an affordable level.

“This experiment with an energy supply market has failed. Only the government can intervene at the scale required to avoid a catastrophe this winter.”

In July, the TUC published a plan to bring the big five energy companies – British Gas, E.ON, EDF, Scottish Power and Ovo – into public ownership, estimating it will cost £2.8bn.

The Green Party has calculated it will cost £37bn to fix the price cap at the rate of last October. Party leaders say closing the loopholes in Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax and the higher VAT revenues resulting from higher prices across the rest of the economy could go a long way towards funding the policy.

The party is also prepared to increase taxes on the super-rich.

Amid a cost of living crisis and escalating energy bills, Labour has unveiled a plan to freeze the energy price cap so households won’t have to pay more than they currently are. The party is also proposing a windfall tax on energy company profits.

Speaking on a visit to the South West this week, Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “We have a choice, we either let the oil and gas continue to make huge profits while every family suffers or we do something about it.”

Starmer says the plan would cost £29bn over the winter and that this would be covered by an increased windfall tax on energy companies.

Tory leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have both ruled out freezing energy prices, claiming it would be an “expensive, short-term fix”.

Sunak has promised further support, targeted at the poorest households.

Truss meanwhile has said she favours tax cuts to grow the economy over providing direct support to households.

Announcing the Green Party proposals on Wednesday, Denyer said: “Everyone needs to use energy to survive, for basic needs like cooking and keeping warm. However, tackling the climate crisis requires that we improve our energy efficiency in this country.

“That’s why our differential tariff will cover basic energy needs but will include progressively rising prices for those who use more energy, with exceptions for those with disabilities and chronic health conditions, alongside support for those companies offering 100 per cent renewable electricity, which is the cheapest form of electricity.

“Alongside an ambitious national home insulation scheme, this will help bring down energy use across the country.”

Main photo: Green Party

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