The business secretary has refused to promise that an energy-bill price cap will be in place by next winter, after warning that the government could not guarantee legislation would be passed in time.
Greg Clark repeatedly refused to commit to the cap for 11m households being imposed by winter 2018-19, under questioning from MPs on Wednesday.
“You’re asking me to speculate about the organisation of parliamentary business, which clearly I can’t do. I hope it [draft legislation for the cap] will proceed very quickly,” he said.
He also admitted he had still not switched his own energy supplier, despite a report this week that said customers who did not were being exploited by big energy firms to prop up their profit margins.
Clark revealed during the election campaign that he had never switched because it was a “hassle”.
“I haven’t switched. I’m clearly not a vulnerable consumer: I’m a busy consumer, I’m a typical consumer,” he told the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee.
Clark insisted that, contrary to what one MP suggested, the government’s price cap would not end the rising trend in the number of people switching firms. “No I don’t believe that is the case,” he said. “The design of the cap is to reduce overcharging, but still enable … continued competition below it.”
The minister insisted that the cap would come into effect because the draft legislation underpinning it enjoyed “broad support” among MPs and so would make “rapid progress” through parliament.
Asked by the Labour MP Albert Owen why the business secretary did not use his powers under the Energy Act of 2010 to impose the cap immediately, Clark denied he had such powers.
“Not to set an absolute cap,” he said, adding that was why he had put forward legislation for Ofgem, the energy regulator, to impose the cap.
Ofgem has said it needs the legislation to gain royal assent before acting, to avoid the risk of a legal challenge from energy firms.
Clark said he hoped the industry would not fight the plan. “I would be very disappointed if there was a legal challenge from one of the energy companies,” he said.
The business secretary also defended the cap from accusations that it was a Marxist measure. “It’s not anti-markets. It’s not in any way inconsistent with the traditions of my party,” he said.
He added that an existing narrow cap for 4m vulnerable households on prepayment meters showed the energy market could have a cap and still have competition.
