Feed-in tariff suggested to reduce future electricity bills

The government should pay home-owners and businesses to reduce electricity use, to help save the environment and reduce electricity bills in the future, an environmental think tank (the Green Alliance) has suggested.

The suggested feed-in tariff would mean the government should pay out now, so that everyone can save money in the future - by cutting the demand for electricity companies to build new power stations.

If this were to go ahead, it wouldn't be the first time the government has introduced incentives for energy saving - with the boiler scrappage scheme being offered across the country to offer people discounts on more efficient boilers.

But could an energy saving incentive work if consumers had to pay up front? According to Dustin Benton, senior policy writer at the Green Alliance, it would be possible, as it could tie in with the governments electricity market reforms and could be implemented quickly to provide a solution to the rising concerns over electricity bills.