The Conservatives have said they would cut energy bills by 20% by axing the carbon tax and abolishing wind farm subsidies.
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho claimed these two policies would save the average family £165 a year.
Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Ms Coutinho told members that scrapping the carbon tax would “instantly” cut bills by almost £8 billion.
She said: “The next Conservative Government will axe the carbon tax on electricity generation.
“When Ed Miliband blames gas for high energy bills, what he doesn’t tell you is that over 30% of what we pay for gas power is not to pay for fuel, but to pay for a carbon tax that the Government chooses to impose.
“Now, we know that we’ll need gas to keep the lights on for decades, so it just adds extra costs to our bills for no reason.
“But here’s the rub: the carbon tax inflates the cost of almost all other types of electricity too.
“So, all the wind and solar farm owners pocket those higher prices as higher profits…
“Axing the carbon tax would cut bills instantly by almost £8 billion a year.”
Ms Coutinho branded wind farm subsidies “the biggest racket going” as she promised her party would scrap them if they won the next general election.
She said: “We’ll scrap Ed Miliband’s old rip-off wind farm subsidies.
“Back in 2008, Ed Miliband in his infinite wisdom chose to double the subsidies on offer for wind farms.
“That means when the wind blows, there are wind farms getting up to three times the market price of electricity, and you’re paying for that through your bills. It’s the biggest racket going.
“We closed the scheme when we were in office, but we’ll go further and say we must scrap those subsidies for good.
“Our energy system is not here to prop up the profits of multimillion-pound wind developers at billpayers’ expense. It’s here to deliver cheap, reliable energy for the country.
“Together, our policies to axe the carbon tax and scrap Ed’s rip-off wind subsidies would cut people’s electricity bills by 20%.
“The average family will save £165 a year off their electricity bill.”
Ms Coutinho also told members that the Conservatives would scrap Great British Energy, branding it energy secretary Ed Miliband’s “vanity project”.
She said that Mr Miliband promised that Great British Energy would lead to a “mind-blowing” reduction in bills, but that this has not come to pass.
The shadow energy secretary said: “Only Ed Miliband could launch an £8 billion energy company that won’t produce any energy.
“Let’s call it what it is: a vanity project that won’t cut bills. So we will scrap it.”
Ms Coutinho reiterated the Conservatives’ pledge to repeal the Climate Change Act, claiming it is their “duty” to change the law, as it is “not working in the national interest”.
She also emphasised that a Tory government would scrap the ban on new oil and gas licences, reverse the energy profits levy and “back the North Sea”, saying: “As long as we need gas, as much as possible should come from Britain.”
The shadow energy secretary also hit out at Reform UK, saying their claim that abandoning net zero could save households £1,000 per year is “garbage”.
She said: “The average bill is only £850. What’s he going to do, go round writing people cheques?
“If you think any politician can promise you electricity for free, then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.”
Responding to the Conservatives’ policies, Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis by the Energy & Climate Change Unit (ECIU), argued that renewables reduce the overall cost of electricity by pushing gas power out of the market.
He said: “People may not realise it, but their bills would be higher today without the increasing role that wind and solar farms running on free sunshine and wind are playing by reducing our dependence on gas power.
“This also means things could have been even worse during the peaks of the gas crisis, had it not been for renewables – indeed, anything that avoids gas generation helps to limit prices, including interconnectors and our old nuclear power plants.
“Prices can spike when wind is low and gas power plants come on, but this is more than made up for by the overall savings on prices that wind farms deliver the rest of the time.”
