- Conference
- 2014 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 12 February 2014
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes in the last three years energy companies have increased their profits by 74%. Last year Npower alone announced a profit of £766 million, yet in the further pursuit of profit Npower announced 1,400 staff would be sacked.
Conference further notes:
1)That at the same time a TUC report last year showed that over the last 10 years fuel bills have risen by 152% and that according to the World Health Organisation, between 30% and 50% of excess winter deaths can be attributable to cold indoor temperatures;
2)In the UK, over the last five years, at least 7800 people have died due to living in cold homes with 65 people dying each day during the winter period, which is four times more than the number of people who died on British roads in 2011. This equates to more and more people living in fuel poverty.
Conference believes:
a)The answer lies not in reducing ‘green taxes’ which are intended to encourage expansion of low-carbon power, subsidise home insulation and tackle fuel poverty;
b)We should support a price freeze followed by a deep audit of the energy market as called for by the TUC, while maintaining our support for full re-nationalisation.
Conference agrees:
i)There is no place for the pursuit of profit in the provision of energy and that the interests of consumers and the planet is best served by the re-nationalisation of all energy companies which would be placed under democratic control. Therefore the National Executive Council is instructed to actively campaign for the re-nationalisation of the energy market.