Hard on the heels of Ofgem’s financial stress tests taking effect next month on UK retailers, the government has said it will review its Energy Retail Market Strategy, published earlier this year.
In a statement, secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng signals D-BEIS’ intention to invite views on how the plan needs updating, after this year’s cull of nearly 30 licenced suppliers.
A triple mantra of protecting consumers, promoting competition and fostering product innovation and grid de-carbonisation has driven the government’s approach to energy retailing.
Once the turmoil among suppliers and wholesale supply stabilises, Kwarteng’s statement shows those principles will endure. But lessons from the past months need to be learnt, particularly to observe and implement them in times of market upheaval, such as 2021’s near tripling of prices of gas traded on world wholesale markets.
Billing the intended review as a ‘refresh’, Kwarteng goes on:
“This vision remains the right one. However, we also need to take account of the lessons from recent months to ensure that the energy retail market is resilient, sustainable, and continues to protect consumers as we move to a net zero energy system”.
Re-design of the Energy Price Cap is necessary, said the minister. Given parliamentary time, the government remains committed to pass legislation extending the energy price cap beyond the existing longstop date of December 2023.
Read the statement here
