UK energy policy debate shifts from clean power to cheap power amid rising costs

A debate has emerged over whether the UK government should prioritise reducing electricity prices over cleaning up generation to drive emissions cuts.

• Gavin Tait, a Glasgow homeowner, switched off his heat pump and returned to a gas boiler after rising electricity costs made it more expensive to run.
• The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has called for a shift from the government's "Clean Power 2030" agenda to "Cheap Power 2030."
• Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK needs to "get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean homegrown power," citing national security and economic security.
• Sir Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at Oxford University, said the system costs of renewables are making electricity more expensive and that tackling climate change will increase costs.