The report from the eurosceptic group stated that meeting the EU’s energy and environment policies could put bills for small to medium sized firms up by an average of £350,000 (23 per cent) and household bills up by £150 (11 per cent) by the end of the decade.
Open Europe estimated that the average medium sized business’ energy bill increased by nine per cent in 2013 through the implementation of EU regulations and said this was “particularly troubling”.
According to their research, energy-related regulations linked to the EU impose cost of £8.4 billion per year on Britain, compared to £1.3 billion a year for UK-derived regulations and would cost the UK £96 billion over their lifespan.
The report said the lack of a global deal on emissions will mean these measures will cost the UK up to €20.6 billion by 2020, a “vast difference” to the £200 billion benefit to the UK originally predicted.
Open Europe suggested this was due to several “flawed assumptions” made at the time, most importantly a global deal on emissions.
The report recommended the UK drops the EU renewable targets immediately potentially saving up to £21 billion, cheaper than the cost EU infraction proceedings of £226 million per year.
Open Europe’s head of economic research Raoul Ruparel said: “Despite admiral goals the EU’s green policies have imposed huge costs but delivered limited benefit and are marred by conflicting objectives.
“With people in the UK concerned about the cost of living, business still struggling to balance their books and Europe needing a more flexible energy supply to wean itself off dependence on Russian gas, a radical re-think of the EU’s energy policy is now vital.”
A Decc spokesperson said: “We don’t recognise the way these figures have been presented. In 2020, we estimate that our policies will continue to reduce energy bills.
“We need a diverse energy mix that includes renewable sources like wind and solar in order to reduce our reliance on imports from often volatile parts of the world.”