How can the authorities force lower energy bills?
As the great energy cost debate continues to roll on more and more UK consumers are starting to ask how and when the government can actually push through lower energy costs. The last few weeks has seen a major fight between the government and the energy companies with energy regulator Ofgem also entering the fray. Despite threats of legal action and increased regulatory powers for Ofgem the energy companies refuse to change their policy and prices look set to rise even higher.
In some ways the government is on a very "sticky wicket" as they have piled on numerous green taxes over the last few years and energy groups are now using these costs as a means to justify their current pricing policies. The government can not really argue when you consider the billions of pounds of additional costs injected into the sector at a time when money is tight and customers are struggling.
A strict legal framework for regulatory issues would blow open the whole concept of self-regulation in the UK and have repercussions for many years to come. Whether the government will actually go down this route remains to be seen.
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