Energy costs 'netted Treasury £1bn'

Rising fuel costs have provided the Government with a windfall of as much as £1 billion from a scheme designed to promote renewable energy, it has been reported.

The revelation comes as Prime Minister Gordon Brown comes under pressure from Labour backbenchers to impose a windfall tax on "excessive" profits made by the energy companies.

Ministers are due in the coming week to unveil a package of measures to help consumers deal with soaring fuel prices, but efforts to persuade the power giants voluntarily to fund a cash handout to vulnerable households this winter appear to have come to nothing.

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon

What are these?