In Westminster, I am a member of the cross- party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. Consumers’ energy bills are one of the most important issues we are dealing with, which is why this new legislation, which will introduce an energy price cap for domestic energy supplies, is so important. The committee reported last month that it was overwhelmingly in support of this policy. The Bill will require the regulator (OfGEM) to introduce a price cap for all customers, which would run until 2020, with provision to be extended if needed. There are already caps in place for those customers on pre-payment meters and for certain vulnerable groups, this would now introduce a cap on the price any customer would pay if they were on a variable or default tariff. There will be opportunities for Green Energy tariffs to be exempted from the cap to ensure they can be made available. Although switching suppliers is encouraged, a recent report stated that only 18% of customers do so on a regular basis and that many customers remain with the ‘Big 6’ energy companies, despite there now being over sixty suppliers operating. We must make it far easier to switch between suppliers. This is an important opportunity to stop many customers from paying a lot more than they need to and ensure we have a consumer led marketplace. I will continue to support this legislation as it progresses through Parliament.
John Bennett
Communications Officer for Stephen Kerr MP
The Wee Vine 