Yahoo Finance ‘Green Day’ winners and losers: what it means for your money
The Government has unveiled a slew of new policies to help meet its “net zero” agenda and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
A series of documents published today, dubbed “Green Day”, includes mandates for electric vehicle manufacturers, grants for households and rules for landlords.
Some of these policies are a boon to households who have already made the switch to greener heating systems or cars, while others plans will be a financial blow to those who are reluctant to embrace the green agenda. The Telegraph rounds up the winners and losers of the Government’s new net zero policies.
Winners
All-electric households
To incentivise greater take-up of greener heating systems, the Government will “rebalance” gas and electric prices for households. This would involve slashing the rates paid for electricity and could save bill payers more than £100 a year, according to Energy Secretary Grant Shapps.
Experts said households that have already taken steps to electrify their homes via heat pumps, solar panels and batteries, will likely see the greatest financial benefits.
Homes near electricity cables
As part of its wider plan to bolster the National Grid and supply more homes with renewable electricity, the Government is planning to expand its network of transmission cables, which can either run overhead via towers or underground. Under current proposals, homes situated near towers or underground cables will be compensated financially, either as a lump sum or on an annual basis for a number of years.
Existing electric vehicle owners
Drivers who have already bought an EV stand to benefit from cheaper electricity rates as part of the Government’s move to rebalance gas and electricity prices. The Government has also committed to expanding the network of public charging points, as a lack of available public charging can render long journeys in EVs unfeasible.
Charging points will also be required to ease payment restrictions and allow drivers to pay without specific smartphone apps or subscriptions.
Losers
Gas-reliant homes
Homes predominantly reliant on gas will effectively be penalised for failing to go green. As it stands, the price paid by electricity is tied to the price of gas. However, energy industry figures have long campaigned to “decouple” the prices to reflect increased generation through green sources such as wind farms.
Drivers looking to buy green vehicles
Purchase costs for new electric vehicles are not expected to come down for some time, despite the Government plan to phase out sales of petrol cars by 2035. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a government advisory body, said the timescales set out were broadly in line with current sales trends anyway – slowing the growth of an affordable second-hand car market for green cars.
Landlords
After years of waiting for clear guidelines, landlords have finally received confirmation as to when they must upgrade rental properties in order for them to be let. By 2028, all rental homes must have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of at least C, meaning landlords could face thousands in renovation costs, or face fines of up to £30,000.
Renters
The Government’s decision to extend the deadline for landlords to upgrade their properties’ energy efficiency will deal a financial blow to renters, who were already under immense pressure from soaring rents and high utility bills.
Under the new rules, landlords have an extra three years to upgrade their properties’ EPC to a C-rating until 2028, meaning tenants will continue to waste money heating energy-inefficient homes. In the long run, the sale of many rental properties by landlords unwilling or unable to upgrade their properties will likely drive up the costs of renting a property, experts warned.
