This week the government has published a draft Bill to cap the most popular energy deals – the standard variable tariff. For millions of families, energy bills are too high, and during this week’s particularly cold weather they will certainly be feeling the pinch. We committed to helping constituents with energy bills in our manifesto and have now outlined how.
The Bill will place an obligation on Ofgem to implement an absolute cap on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) as soon as possible. It will have to make sure that customers can make savings but still have enough room to shop around, so that all suppliers don’t just charge the highest tariff. There will be the potential to exempt tariffs for renewable energy suppliers, which is important for those who want to (and can afford to) pay more to support this green source of energy.
The Bill will now come to Parliament and I look forward to joining the debate. I will certainly support capping the SVT, which is what many of my constituents will be on.