Consumers want incentives to switch to green utilities
Published On 21 March 2007
Consumers hoped Gordon Brown would do more to encourage them to switch to green utilities, according to new research.Data gathered by consumer switching website, uSwitch, found that more than half (53 per cent) of the UK population believe that the government should create financial incentives to encourage people to switch to green tariffs for their home utilities.
Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) think that the most efficient way of doing this would be for the government to reduce, or even remove, the VAT on energy efficient services.
Currently, only about 200,000 - or approximately 0.33 per cent of the population - have green utility tariffs. This is because these environmental services typically cost £133 a year more than regular ones.
However, if Mr Brown reduced VAT on green utilities to five per cent, they would become cheaper than their less environmentally sound alternatives.
"It looks as though Gordon Brown is going for the right approach in using carrots rather than sticks to win public support for the battle to reduce carbon emissions," said Ann Robinson, the director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com.
"Unfortunately, on this occasion he hasn't gone far enough and has missed the opportunity to provide the biggest incentive to get people onto green tariffs – removing the VAT."
Ms Robinson added that people were unlikely to switch voluntarily if the environmental option "is going to cost them more".
