Cost of the Dieter Helm Energy Review

This briefing covers the cost, background for, conclusions of, and comment on, Dieter Helm’s review on the ‘Cost of Energy’.

In August 2017, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy launched an independent review into the cost of energy, led by Professor Dieter Helm, an economist specialising in energy based at the University of Oxford.[1] The review was published in October 2017.

In November 2017, the Government disclosed the cost of Dieter Helm’s review. Professor Dieter Helm, was paid £500 per day, for 30 days work. Members of the advisory panel were not paid. The Department also reimbursed the travel costs of the reviewer and advisory panel members, which amounted to £410.[2]

The Government say the report built on the Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper, published in January 2017, to recommend ways to keep energy prices as low as possible.[3]

[1]     Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Press Release, Independent review to ensure energy is affordable for households and businesses, 6 August 2017

[2]     PQ 111460 [on Cost of Energy Independent Review], 13 November 2017

[3]     Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Press Release, Independent review to ensure energy is affordable for households and businesses, 6 August 2017