Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey has quickly criticised a statement from energy company RWE npower, which has claimed that annual energy bills will rise due to the government's renewable policies.

RWE npower's 'Energy Explained' report has suggested that household energy bills will rise to £1,487 by 2020. This is a £240 increase on current prices. According to the energy supplier, the rise is in part due to spending on transportation costs and increased government emphasis on renewable energy production and policies.

With the government suggesting that the energy policies would actually help to reduce energy bills in the UK, the RWE npower announcement was obviously met by opposition from Mr Davey.

Speaking to BusinessGreen, the energy secretary said that the npower report doesn't look at energy efficiency correctly and overestimates the cost of the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO).

"Before ECO was launched, they [npower] put out a report that said the cost of ECO would be £3 billion. To be fair, in this recent report they have the cost of ECO at £1.7 billion, although they don't tell anybody that they got it wrong by nearly double last year," Mr Davey added.

"Our impact assessment is showing that the cost will be £1.3 billion and the latest evidence from the most recent brokerage auctions show our figures are about right."

The government has also suggested that it is in fact the cost of gas prices, which has led to a rise in energy bills for UK consumers.

"That is why it is vital we crack on with securing investment in a diverse energy mix that includes renewables and new nuclear, as well as gas," minister for energy and climate change Greg Barker said.

For consumers looking to reduce their energy bills, renewable systems could be the best possible option. The installation of solar panels, for example, will help to cut a household's reliance on power from the National Grid, whilst also being an effective way to decrease carbon emissions.