Richest UK households 'should pay more to fund clean energy'

Government-funded researchers urge change in way clean energy is funded to reduce burden on poorest households

The richest households should pay 410 a year more towards supporting energy subsidies for wind farms, solar rooftops and home insulation schemes, government-funded researchers have urged.

The UK Energy Research Centre (Ukerc) said that shifting environmental and social levies off electricity bills and instead loading them on to general taxation would reduce the cost of energy for more than two thirds of households.