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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Nils Pratley

Labour’s energy bills crisis is getting worse. Political honesty is essential

Technician in uniform repairing heat pump
Businesses and the public need to know what will be happening to the price of electricity to assess the costs of switching to a heat pump. Photograph: JulPo/Getty Images

Another Ofgem energy price cap day, another increase in bills. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the new energy secretary, can blame the usual culprit on Wednesday – the fossil fuel price “rollercoaster”, given a shove this time by Donald Trump’s Middle East misadventure. Higher gas prices will indeed be the main quarter-on-quarter reason why bills stand at a three-year high on a unit basis.

But there is more to the tale on a longer view. Even when the gas rollercoaster dips downwards, the energy industry’s medium-term projections suggest bills will not fall meaningfully.

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