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Renewable energy will play a “crucial part” in Britain’s energy future according to Chancellor George Osborne. In his annual Budget address he said he wants renewable energy at the lowest possible costs to energy bill payers.

The price of petrol has hit a record high following tension between Iran and the West.

A minister said the new Energy Bill is designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

A council chief has led calls for zero VAT on energy bills.

The energy-using habits of British households have been revealed in a new report partly written by the Energy Saving Trust.

On Wednesday oil prices neared an eight-month high after European ministers agreed in principle to an Iranian oil import ban. Brent crude almost went up to the $114 per barrel mark as markets reacted to news of the impending ban.

The Mayor of London’s new energy efficiency programme aims to install energy and water efficiency measures in homes across the capital.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said more than 20 per cent of all households in the UK were affected by fuel poverty in 2009 due to higher fuel bills. A household is defined as being in fuel poverty when it has to spend more than 10% of its income keeping warm. DECC predicts that the numbers for 2010 and this year will have increased because of further rises in the price of energy.

Gas prices have rocketed as the freezing weather has retained its icy grip across Europe.

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has asked for a me

A director of a charity has said government plans to shake up Britain’s power supply market are “regressive”. Norman Kerr of Energy Action Scotland: “It is a regressive step as payments to cover the costs will take the form of blanket levies on customers’ bills and will not be based on either ability to pay or level of usage.” He favours general taxation as a way of paying for energy reforms.

E.ON is the fourth energy company to announce a hike to its gas and electricity prices in the UK. Its electricity prices will rise by 11.4 per cent and gas costs will be up 18.1% from next month. E.ON has around five million customers but said almost 600,000 were unaffected by the rise, including its most vulnerable customers on WarmAssist tariffs. It has also guaranteed no more price increases for Age UK customers for at least a year.