On Tuesday the Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee met for a hearing as part of their inquiry into Energy pricing and the future of the Energy Market.
The Committee’s inquiry on the retail energy market follows unprecedented surges in wholesale energy prices since the summer and with a number of firms going out of business, including Bulb, Britain’s seventh-biggest supplier with 1.6 million households as customers.
The inquiry is examining the extent to which the policy and regulatory environment has contributed to the current issues affecting the energy market, the impact on consumers of rising energy prices, and the operation of the energy price cap.
Richard Fuller MP, who is a Member of the Select Committee said:
With the energy price cap having being raised significantly with effect from April 1st and expected to rise again in October, we have all seen the impact of this in dramatically increased estimated energy bills.
One of those providing evidence to the committee was Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert who suggested that customer direct debits were rising beyond levels that could be justified by the price cap rise. I asked him whether some of the price increases announced by energy suppliers were in part designed to boost their cash flows, and whether the regulator Ofgem was going soft on the issue through fear of negative poor PR if more energy businesses fail.
Whilst Mr Lewis refuted that particular point, he did suggest that he had heard anecdotally, that some direct debit increases might be being inflated in anticipation of October's further rise in the price cap.
The full exchange can be watched here.
