Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Winter of cold homes’ on way as PM’S cap on bills slammed
TORY plans to cap energy giants’ rip-off prices have been attacked.
PM Theresa May promised to stop the exploitation of 12 million households on dear standard variable tariffs.
But critics claimed the cap would not encourage people to switch to cheaper deals while others slammed the delay in bringing it in.
Draft legislation published yesterday requires regulator Ofgem to consult and impose the cap “as soon as practicable”. But Ofgem boss Dermot Nolan has already warned consultation could take five months.
The GMB union’s Justin Bowden said: “The announcement falls short of the boldness needed to protect billpayers from profiteering.”
And Labour claimed that four million households will face a winter of “cold homes or astronomical bills” because of the Government’s dithering.