Ofgem: tinkering with energy cap review fails to address cost of living crisis
16 May 2022
Responding to the announcement by energy regulator Ofgem that it plans to review the energy cap every three months rather than the current six months [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:
“Changing the goalposts in this way will do nothing to help the millions of households struggling to put food on the table and pay eye-watering energy bills. Energy companies may think that such tinkering will mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, but they’re not fooling anyone.
“We need measures that put money back in people’s pockets now. That’s why the Green Party has argued for restoring the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and doubling it to £40 per week, in addition to other benefits. We also want to provide every household with an additional £320 to help them pay for spiralling energy costs [2].
“Critically, we need to see a massive nationwide insulation programme over the next decade. This could reduce energy bills dramatically while ensuring that everyone has energy efficient homes to live in. The introduction of a carbon tax on the fossil fuel companies – who are making colossal profits on the back of the cost-of-living crisis – would help pay for such a retrofit programme. Greens in government have helped push exactly such a policy in Ireland [3]”.
Notes
[1] Energy price cap adjustments could be every three months under Ofgem reform plan
[3] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/government-launches-the-national-retrofitting-scheme/