Energy conservation
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on energy conservation. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 04.12.2012 | Smart meters |
| Between now and 2019 more than 50 million new 'smart meters' will be rolled out to 30 million homes and smaller businesses in Britain. These are intended to allow consumers to see and adjust in real time what energy they are using. The Public Accounts Committee considers the challenges associated with roll-out 'huge'. | |
| 23.11.2012 | Simplifying Energy Tariffs |
| The complexity of energy tariffs makes it hard for consumers to get the best deal. In October 2012 the Prime Minister announced legislation to require energy companies to offer customers their cheapest tariff. This will be done in the Energy Bill 2012, expected before the end of November. These moves augment consultations and work that the energy regulator Ofgem has been conducting for some time now. | |
| 22.11.2012 | Help with energy bills |
| This note points towards sources of financial and practical help for constituents with domestic gas and electricity bills. It links to further sources for more information. It focuses on schemes that individuals can apply for, rather than local authorities or housing associations. | |
| 16.11.2012 | EU bibliographies: Proposed energy efficiency directive |
| 14.11.2012 | British Summer Time and the Daylight Saving Bill 2010-11 |
| This Standard Note provides an overview of the pros and cons of British Summer Time and the altering of clocks, as well as details of attempts to change clock times in the UK. It discusses the current Daylight Savings Bill 2010-11. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 13.12.2012 | Energy Bill |
| The Energy Bill [Bill 100 of 2012-13] seeks to implement 'electricity market reform' and through this achieve 'secure, clean and affordable' electricity supplies. The Bill was introduced to the Commons on 29 November 2012 and will have its Second Reading debate on 19 December 2012. A draft Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. | |
| 11.01.2012 | Daylight Saving Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Daylight Saving Bill. | |
| 06.09.2011 | Energy Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Energy Bill. It complements Library Research Paper 11/36 (Energy Bill) prepared for the Commons Second Reading. | |
| 04.05.2011 | Energy Bill [HL] |
| This briefing on the Energy Bill has been prepared for the Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons. The flagship policy in the Bill is the 'Green Deal', a scheme whereby homes would be given finance upfront to make energy efficiency improvements, which would then be paid for by energy bill savings. The Bill would also set up a new obligation on energy companies to help certain groups of consumers with saving energy, who need extra support. The Bill also introduces a range of other measures designed to improve energy efficiency; such as facilitating the roll-out of smart meters, widening access to energy performance certificates and making information on energy bills clearer. The Bill also provides measures designed to help improve energy security, to encourage low carbon generation and to grant additional powers to the Coal Authority to charge for certain services. | |
| 30.06.2009 | Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| Report of the Commons Committee Stage of the Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill. This is a Private Member's Bill, introduced by Peter Ainsworth, which seeks to define and promote "green energy". |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 07.09.2010 | Low carbon technologies in a green economy. |
| Government response. Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 17.03.2010 | Low carbon technologies in a green economy. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 17.03.2010 | The proposals for national policy statements on energy. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 02.02.2009 | Programmes to reduce household energy consumption. |
| Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 10.02.2011 | SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE CONSTITUENTS IN WINTER WEATHER |
| That this House recognises that the severe cold weather conditions have made it a difficult winter for constituents across the country, on top of challenging economic circumstances; ... | |
| 25.01.2011 | SUSPENSION OF THE WARM FRONT SCHEME |
| That this House praises the Warm Front scheme which has helped insulate thousands of homes since it was set up by the previous Labour government; notes how the scheme has helped vulnerable ... | |
| 02.12.2010 | CLOSE THE DOOR CAMPAIGN |
| That this House notes the excellent work of the Close the Door campaign in Bristol and Cambridge, the campaign which aims to conserve energy by asking retailers to keep their doors ... | |
| 27.07.2010 | ENERGY GENERATION AND ENERGY SAVING |
| That this House notes that the evidence submitted to the recent consultation on the draft national policy statement for energy infrastructure by the Association for the Conservation ... | |
| 09.03.2010 | EARTH HOUR 2010 CAMPAIGN AND THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER |
| That this House supports WWF's Earth Hour 2010; notes the event's record of persuading one billion people worldwide to sign up to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.01.2010 | Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. LLN 2010/001 |
| Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 14th January: 'To call attention to the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change' The UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen from 7th-19th December 2009. This Note explains the significance of the Conference in the context of previous international agreements on climate change, sets out the major disagreements that marred the negotiating process in Copenhagen and summarises the key elements contained in the final Copenhagen Accord. It considers analysis of the Accord's achievements and shortcomings, and summarises the reactions of key nations and interest groups. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 06.08.2012 | Energy Use Behaviour Change |
| This POSTnote introduces the factors and interventions that can influence behaviour, and discusses the behavioural aspects of the Green Deal and the smart meters programme. | |
| 25.05.2012 | Assessing Energy Efficiency |
| This POSTnote examines definitions of energy efficiency, looks at methods to measure and verify achieved energy savings and summarises UK and EU polices to promote energy efficiency. | |
| 23.01.2012 | Measuring Energy Security |
| This POSTnote explores ways in which energy security may be measured for monitoring purposes. | |
| 01.02.2008 | Smart metering of electricity and gas, February 2008 |
| Smart metering of electricity and gas, February 2008. POSTnote 08/301. | |
| 01.04.2007 | Energy and sewage, April 2007 |
| Energy and sewage, April 2007. POSTnote 07/282. |
