Steve Beasant

The Daily Telegraph reports today, that the new Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey is pledging to bring forward the knowledge from his previous role as Consumer Affairs Minister to take on the energy companies.

The Daily Telegraph reports:

He will set out new plans that will allow homeowners to group together to buy cheap gas and electricity at knock-down rates. Bills have soared over the past five years.

The plans are based on the principles of the ‘Groupon’ website, which features discounted gift certificates for members that can to buy expensive products cheaply.

Mr Davey, 46, who was Consumer affairs minister in the Department for Business, has spent the past few months developing the plans with Chris Huhne, who quit as Energy secretary yesterday.

Mr Davey signalled the plans in his first public statement as energy secretary on Friday, as Britain was bracing itself for sub-zero temperatures this weekend.

Speaking from the steps of his department, he said: “I have now got to take up the challenges, the challenge of climate change, the challenge of energy security.

“I am particularly conscious of the impact on consumers’ households across the country of high energy bills.”

Mr Davey hinted that he was going to continue with Mr Huhne’s controversial plans to increase the number of wind-farms across the country.

He said he was committed to “a green economy where there’s lots of green jobs to help growth in our economy”.

He added: “I am determined to work to follow on Chris’s priorities, the Liberal Democrats’ priorities, the Coalition government’s priorities and make them my priorities.

“I want us to have a green economy where there’s lots of green jobs to help growth in our economy.”

Mr Davey’s promotion to the Cabinet marks the high point of a career in politics which began just six months after he graduated from university.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton has won plaudits for handling the thorny issue of Royal Mail privatisation as a minister in Vince Cable’s Business Department since the coalition Government came to power.

To read the full article on the Daily Telegraph website, view HERE.