On Monday the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill completed its passage through the House of Commons, and has passed to the House of Lords with the expectation that it will become law by this summer. The Bill fulfils the Conservative Manifesto promise to protect consumers from unfair energy bills and is the first step in reforming the broken energy market.
The energy market is not working for ordinary consumers. Customers who shop around and switch suppliers can save around £300 each year, but energy bills remain higher than they should for millions of households. Ofgem have already introduced a safeguard tariff cap on prepayment meters, saving five million of the most vulnerable customers an average £60 each year. This Bill will build on that by putting an absolute cap on default standard variable energy tariffs by the end of the year so that the 11 million households on these rip off tariffs can feel the benefits this winter.
Strong competition is the best way to protect the interests of consumers, and this Bill is part of larger efforts to reform the energy market, giving more power to consumers, increasing competition through the rollout of smart meters and making switching suppliers quicker and easier for everyone.