Miliband: I’ll make power firms cut prices
ENERGY firms should be forced by law to cut bills when the wholesale cost of oil and gas falls, Ed Miliband said yesterday.
The Labour leader wants industry regulator Ofgem to have new powers which will compel companies to pass on cost savings to households.
He will stage a vote i n Parliament on Wednesday for fast-track legislation to bring ‘immediate relief ’ to families, echoing his high-profile call at his party’s conference in 2013 for a freeze on energy prices.
It comes as a report found wholesale prices are the lowest in more than three years, but household bills are still not reflecting the fall.
However, the Conservatives said Labour was to blame because energy firms were holding back in the expectation of a price freeze. Mr Miliband told The Andrew Marr Show: ‘We do want to see those reductions in wholesale costs passed on to consumers. We see wholesale costs go down 20 per cent in gas prices over the last year and no reduction in bills.’
He added: ‘We can do that as well as having this freeze to make sure energy bills don’t rise.’
Mr Miliband also called for a new ‘living standards index’ to track how household finances are affected by changes to wages, prices, taxes and benefits. He also confirmed Labour would retain the annual cap on benefits claims – and would not rule out reducing it.
In its latest report, energy analysis firm ICIS predicted that the low wholesale prices will continue for the rest of the year. Wholesale prices are now 11 per cent down year on year, according to its latest power price index, with wholesale gas down more than 20 per cent.
Mark Todd, of price comparison service energyhelpline, said: ‘Wholesale gas prices have collapsed so it is time the suppliers passed price cuts on to their loyal customers.’
But Lawrence Slade of Energy UK, which represents electricity and gas suppliers, said prices were a commercial matter for companies who often buy months ahead, making it difficult to pass on savings quickly.
‘No new powers are needed,’ he said. ‘Energy suppliers are already passing on price cuts to customers.’
Last night a Tory source said: ‘Like most of his great ideas, Ed Miliband’s energy policy will take us back to the 1970s.’