As a record number of UK consumers head towards winter already in debt to their energy supplier, the price cap that controls what households pay for gas and electricity is clearly no longer fit for purpose.
Even the energy regulator presiding over the cap, Ofgem’s Jonathan Brearley, has admitted the mechanism is “very broad and crude” and has called on ministers to implement a “more rigorous framework” to protect consumers. But the next step looks far from simple and the government does not appear to be giving the problem much thought.
