What happened to May’s pledge to bring in a cap?

BEFORE the general election Theresa May promised to cap rip-off energy bills.

She pledged there would be an end to the ‘injustice’ of fat cat firms ripping off poor customers.

Specifically, she said there would be a cap on expensive standard variable tariffs (SVTs) – so delivering a saving of up to £100 a year for 17million households.

Writing in The Sun, she said: ‘It is clear to me that the energy market is not working for ordinary working families. Too many people simply aren’t getting a fair deal. ‘If I am re-elected on June , I will take action to end this injustice by introducing a cap on unfair energy price rises.’ However, the policy was opposed by senior members of her Cabinet, rumoured to include Chancellor Philip Hammond. Since the election, the idea appears to have been watered down. Instead, Ofgem has been asked to come up with a more limited system of protection for ‘vulnerable’ customers.

The decision by British Gas to raise electricity prices by 12.5 per cent has breathed new life into demands for a general cap, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy saying it was ‘ruling nothing out’.

Last night a Downing Street source insisted legislation to combat the energy markets was ‘in no way off the table’.