MPs To Offer Consumers Protection Against Soaring Bills

Calls for the practise of the 'big six' energy companies charging customers, who pay by pre-payment meters, more are to be outlawed, with a simple set tariff introduced for all consumers to be introduced.

Though EDF has already given into public pressure to make such a move, it is anticipated that this latest initiative from the cross-party groups of MPs will pave the way for big savings, particularly for customers who are able to get online, compare prices and switch utilities suppliers.

Among those groups to have spoken out in favour of the proposed legislation, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has revealed that its pre-payment meter customers are currently paying an average of £40 extra a year for their gas, with the most vulnerable households hurting the most.

"The energy companies have shamelessly ripped off their poorest customers over many years but at last this group of MPs is taking a stand," said the chief executive of the federation.

"Millions of low income families are already struggling to make ends meet during the recession and hitting them with the very highest fuel tariffs is simply not acceptable."

For many, this latest development has not come a day too soon, particularly now that the energy industry watchdog, Ofgem, has warned that British households could be spending around £2,000 a year on gas and electricity by 2016.

Once again highlighting the need to stay on top of market changes and switch utilities suppliers when appropriate, the regulator has warned that prices could rise by as much as 60 per cent over the coming years, largely as a result of companies having to finance new technology and infrastructure.

However, such a rise would represent a 'worst case scenario' for UK consumers, with a rosier outlook being the prospect of prices going up by 14 per cent by 2020, a time by which it is hoped that a solid renewable energy infrastructure will be in place, thereby allowing consumers to cut their bills and their carbon footprints even further.

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