Energy chiefs say probe will justify prices

mering on pricing.’ Official sources currently show the cost of meeting targets on greenhouse gases will be about £58 billion.

Another major expense is the £11 billion cost of rolling out smart meters nationally.

The Tory manifesto promised a ‘safeguard tariff cap’ on energy bills for ‘more customers on the poorest value tariffs’.

However, there was no mention of a much-trumpeted £100 reduction in bills across the board, so only customers on the highest standard tariffs are likely to be affected.

The Competition & Markets Authority’s probe into energy, which reported last year, ignored key distribution costs, leading to complaints from energy companies that the investigation was flawed. It concluded that market competition was distorted.