It seems the government are hoping to pump more money into and win long-term contracts for schemes like nuclear power, wind farms and other renewable sources, in the hope of securing the future of our energy.

But the energy department have said today that this will not mean higher public subsidies (something that is illegal in the European Union) for controversial nuclear power.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said, "With nuclear capacity and coal capacity coming offline, we need a market structure to keep the lights on. To get investment, we need to give investors certainty that will lower the cost of capital.

"There will be no blank cheque for nuclear - unless they are price competitive, nuclear projects will not go ahead."

He did however admit that new contracts for nuclear energy may well push bills up, but it’s an increase that would take place anyway, as the price of importing wholesale gas has increased.

Renewable UK's director of policy Dr Gordon Edge has come out as critical of new long-term government contracts: "Investment decisions for both developers and manufacturers need to be made a long time in advance and it's key that they get reassurance and understanding of how the market will allow generators of all sizes to produce and sell power.”

Today’s draft energy bill will be discussed in Parliament this week, before appearing as a fully-fledged bill in the autumn.