Thousands of us energy customers (probably including you if you pay by monthly direct debit) are being regularly charged more than we owe for our energy use. In this way Energy companies are taking massive interest-free loans at the expense of us, their customers, making us believe we're better off keeping our accounts in credit. They are reluctant to refund these overpayments, even when we leave them for a new supplier and some of us are owed thousands of pounds taken through these direct debit overpayments. Energy companies should be made to declare publicly how much they are holding onto in 'customer credit', to offer customers regular opportunities to claim a refund and they should be forced to stick to a time limit for credit to be refunded to former customers. Times are hard enough without us having to subsidise greedy energy suppliers in this way.

The UK has enshrined its objective of carbon neutrality in law. Now, the double whammy of soaring energy bills and Russia's use of gas as a weapon of economic warfare make the development of renewables and increasing energy efficiency more urgent than ever before. Grade 2 listed and conservation area properties are numerous and among the most energy-inefficient in Islington, which aims to become a net zero borough by 2030. With residential buildings accounting for over a third of carbon emissions, planning regulations are preventing landlords, tenants and residents from radically reducing their energy bills and their carbon footprint. Councils such as Kensington & Chelsea are adapting their planning rules to help. Experts agree that London will not meet its climate targets if its many listed homes and conservation areas are left unchanged, as current planning regulations demand. It also means homes are less energy-secure and more expensive to heat than they need be.

Instead of addressing the energy crisis through home insulation and cheap, green options like wind and solar, ministers have doubled down on dangerous fossil fuels by trying to revive the failing fracking industry. Fracking will have no impact on energy bills for those struggling this winter. It will only make our homes less safe, pollute our environment and industrialise our countryside. Not to mention the fact it will accelerate the climate emergency exactly at a time we urgently need to end our dependency on oil and gas. The government believes that paying a community to accept fracking is the same as consent. Now ministers are planning to bypass the democratic process altogether and ignore the views of local residents that have stood firmly against fracking in the past. We need to show them this is wrong. Our local communities have rejected fracking time and time again. We want the final say on what happens in our local area, and we won’t take no for an answer.

The Oxfordshire local government pension scheme which, provides pensions for over 66,000 public sector workers in the county, has investments in fossil fuel companies including over £20m in Shell despite the county council having declared a Climate Emergency back in 2019. Scientists tell us that to avoid extreme disasters, the majority of known reserves need to stay in the ground. Yet these companies are investing in new fossil fuel exploration and development projects which jeopardize any chance that global heating will be limited to 1.5°C, threatening everyone's security and livelihood. Divestment sends a clear message to the fossil fuel sector and removes any social license to continue their dangerous business plans.

“Clean” Energy Security? The raw material for nuclear is uranium which can be found in in the UK in the Orkneys but which our government buys from, for example Kazakhstan where it is largely mined by leaching out the uranium from the rock using massive amounts of fresh water and chemicals. “Clean” Carbon footprint? Nuclear is at least the third highest carbon emitter after coal-fired plants and natural gas. As uranium becomes more scarce more energy and chemicals are needed to get the uranium out of the ground. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have calculated their carbon footprint for 2019/20 as 1,046,950 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). This does not include operation of nuclear reactors or include the building of Hinkley Point C with the biggest pour of concrete in the UK ever. The nuclear and fossil fuel industry are mutually intertwined. The biggest gas plant being constructed in the UK right now is at Sellafield, home to 80 percent of the UK's existing nuclear waste which needs to be kept cool. The heating effect of discharges to the atmosphere and sea and also the use of water as a coolant for reactors and nuclear wastes are all contributing to ocean temperature rise and climate change. An honest description of Nuclear would be : Radioactive Fossil Fuel by proxy. “Clean” Radioactive Emissions Radioactive emissions occur at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle from the mining of uranium to enrichment, to fuel manufacture, to operation of the reactors, to the “disposal” of nuclear wastes. These emissions occur both routinely and accidentally and have already resulted in large swathes of the world’s land and oceans becoming irreversibly polluted with man-made radioactive isotopes. "Clean" and Healthy? Radiation can damage the DNA in our cells. High doses of radiation can cause Acute Radiation Syndrome or Cutaneous Radiation Injuries. There is no such thing as a “safe dose” of radiation The “Clean Energy Technology Park” just 3.9 miles from the centre of Preston is planning an incinerator to burn intermediate level radioactive wastes from across Europe. This would result in daily plumes of chemical and radio-toxic airborne fine particle emissions blowing accross Preston City Centre. We call for the word “Clean” to be replaced by - Nuclear - at the "Clean Energy Technology Park".

Millions of people from across the UK could be owed hundreds of pounds in refunds from their energy provider. The refunds are linked to direct debit payments on fuel costs, which often result in customers overpaying in summer months. And some suppliers are using the money to fund "otherwise unsustainable business practices." It’s just not good enough. That’s why energy watchdog Ofgem is consulting on introducing an auto-refund system in which consumers are automatically refunded on a yearly basis rather than building up credit on their accounts. If thousands sign the petition, Ofgem will know how serious the public are taking this issue, and even the big energy companies could change the way they do things before they are forced to.

Building new dirty power directly contradicts the government's legally binding target to reduce emissions to net-zero by 2050. Gas-fired power is a major contributor to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions; we must move away from this fuel if we stand any chance of tackling the climate crisis and improving air quality. The government is already being sued by ClientEarth over the decision. We need to build support for the legal case and show people want clean power instead.

This hike is certain to hit innovation and investment in the UK’s growing solar and battery storage market. Not to mention the vital progress on decarbonising heat, which according to the Spring Statement is a strong focus for this government. There could not be a more contradictory step following the declaration of a climate emergency by parliament.

All residents in mobile park homes, caravan and motorhome owners and people living in rural areas have to pay inflated prices for the supply of these gas bottled. During winter months, this cost puts a huge financial strain on all residents in residential park retirement homes (mostly retired )and users. The cost of electricity is regulated but not bottled gas, so its time this was regulated as well. If it can be done in Spain then why not here.

Essex County Council have announced plans to close 25 libraries and to turn a further 19 over to be run by local communities to save money. My local library, in West Mersea, employs 2 people for 21 hours a week. Not only will they lose their jobs if these closures go ahead, but so will all the staff at the threatened 44 libraries. My library is thriving. It is always busy with people of all ages reading newspapers and periodicals, borrowing books, DVDs and CDs, accessing the internet, researching their family ancestry and speaking to others. Libraries are fantastic assets to the community and need to be saved. No libraries in Essex should be closed or downgraded to being run by volunteers The elderly population of Essex need these libraries. Many do not have computers and some of them may not speak to anyone else in their day. We need local libraries in local communities which can be accessed on foot or bike, by all sections of society. Please think again before implementing these closures.

SSE is a privatised utility building Scotland's flagship renewable energy project. They are in receipt of £2.6bn of taxpayers' money. The ITF union and RMT union have discovered that HM Government has relaxed the rules for migrant workers in order to allow SSE to import workers from Indonesia and Russia and pay them less than the minimum wage, let alone the going rate for British offshore workers and seafarers. Furthermore, this is happening in a region that has already been hit by the downturn in North Sea oil production. Thousands of offshore workers and seafarers have been laid off in the last couple of years so there are local men and women eminently qualified to take up these roles. That opportunity has been denied to them because the UK government is collaborating in importing non-EU workers to undercut local workers and the UK minimum wage. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/21/migrants-building-beatrice-windfarm-paid-fraction-of-minimum-wage

Brockham, in Surrey’s Green Belt, is about to be subject to a new and controversial type of oil extraction and production. This involves the use of chemicals, acids, reinjected waste fluids and gas flaring which can release toxins into our air and water sources. These risk harm to our health and environment. Astonishingly, no statutory body is monitoring air or water quality, nor have they required disclosure of the type and quantities of chemicals to be used. This is because the site is being allowed to operate under an old-style environmental permit appropriate for a simple nodding donkey type pump – NOT the new technique about to be deployed. The Environment Agency has been in the process of putting in a modern-style permit for over 2 years, but it is still unclear when this will be completed. The Environment Agency wrote last year: “We are in the process of bringing their permits up to a modern standard, including a declaration of chemicals used. As a result that information will only become available in time.” The time has surely come. The new 'sidetrack' hole was drilled without authorisation or planning permission in January 2017 when Angus Energy misled Surrey Council into believing they were simply performing maintenance work. Despite being misled, Surrey County Council shockingly issued retrospective planning permission in August 2018. We have serious concerns over the operator's competence and integrity. Angus Energy now have carte blanche to commence extraction from unconventional geology using new methods that are neither properly regulated or monitored. Brockham is in an area with much groundwater and numerous water courses and we are highly concerned about the water pollution risks this new activity presents. During a recent test from the same rock formations at Balcombe in Sussex, the same company Angus Energy hit "unexpected high-pressure water" through "fractured communication" with other layers, highlighting the reality of the risks we face. We are also concerned about the impacts on public health from the gas flaring and gas engine combustion, which are projected to produce significant emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and undetermined quantities of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S). Brockham will be amongst the first sites in the country to attempt commercial production from shale rock. The target Jurassic Kimmeridge layer has been compared by the authorities to the Bakken Formation in North Dakota, where the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling brought about mass industrialisation and thousands of wells. In the interests of people's health and the environment this new activity should not be allowed, at the very least until a new Environmental Permit with stricter modern regulation and control is in place. We simply seek to properly respect and protect our health and environment and are asking the Environment Agency and Government to do the same. - - - [1] Brockham Oil Watch are raising funds to commission professional baseline air and water monitoring. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/brockham-oil-watch?fbclid=IwAR1kPGcARen3kaNHqysTe7JfrbhVHlTMOjUGpmiaqeKM4HAJUvk7IlDNMdU [2] More detail here: https://drillordrop.com/2018/06/14/residents-uncover-regulatory-loophole-at-surrey-oil-site/ [3] and here: https://drillordrop.com/2018/10/23/leading-surrey-councillor-lists-challenges-of-working-with-weald-oil-companies/