London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

UK Gov't Stands Firm on Household Price Cap Amid Energy Market Jitters

UK Gov't Stands Firm on Household Price Cap Amid Energy Market Jitters

Rampant speculation on the energy market has seen the price of natural gas futures more than double in recent weeks - before crashing back after Russia pledged to honour all existing contracts via its network of pipelines. But entrepreneurs in Britain's oversaturated market fear their profit margins will be cut to the bone.

The UK's business minister has insisted the household energy price cap will remain in place despite yo-yoing energy market prices and pressure from industry.

Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday morning that the current price control limit, set by regulator Ofgem in August, would stay in force for the full six-month term from 1 October of this year to 1 April 2022.

"Many companies during this period have said that we should lift the price cap or get rid of it", Kwarteng said. "And I've been very clear that it can't be moved because it does offer consumers the protection that we all need against very, very high upswings in the price".


The cabinet minister also resisted Phillips' goading suggestion that the government was advising the public to wrap up warm and turn the thermostat down.

"I'm not going down that route. I think people are perfectly sensible users of energy", Kwarteng said. "All I am guaranteeing, or attempting to guarantee, is security of supply".


Kwarteng explained that 50 percent of the UK's gas supply in 2020 was domestically-produced, 30 percent came from Norway — whose energy minister told him a fortnight earlier the country was increasing gas output — and 20 percent from liquified natural gas (LNG) imports from around the world.

Phillips is a former member of the London Assembly for the opposition Labour Party, and was on the board of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign against Brexit — which Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered.

Business Concerns


Kwarteng also stressed that while the price cap would not be extended to business users, they've already benefited from existing subsidies.

"We've already got subsidies in place and it's very clear that a lot of those are working", he said. "On the consumer side we've got an energy price cap and on the industry side we have measures where we support industries, heavy electricity users".


"I'm speaking to government colleagues, particularly in the Treasury, to try and see a way through this", Kwarteng added.

But an unnamed source at the Treasury denied the business secretary had approached the department.

"This is not the first time the BEIS secretary has made things up in interviews", the source told Sky News. "To be crystal clear the Treasury are not involved in any talks".

Industry group Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck warned that more "fragile" intermediary household supply companies could go bankrupt over the winter — and claimed that would mean price rises for consumers.


Britain's privatised energy market has scores of companies competing to act as intermediaries between the generating and supply monopolies and consumers, reading meters and billing users.

The actual supply infrastructure is run by regional Distribution Network Operator (DNO) organisations, currently controlled by just seven companies, while generation is in the hands of other firms — including the French state-owned national power utility EDF.

Market Mayhem


Prices on the gas futures market have more than doubled in recent weeks — amid speculation following unusually cold winter and spring weather across Europe earlier this year and a recent period of calm winds that hit electricity turbine generation — causing severl energy billing companies to go bankrupt.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement on Wednesday that national gas company Gazprom would honour all supply contracts burst the market bubble — with the pending start of operations from the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline across the Baltic Sea set to increase flow further.

Ironically, the prime minister and his Downing Street spokesman made statements this week claiming Nord Stream 2 would actually harm "energy security" by making Eastern European countries more reliant on Russia.

A total of 10 smaller billing firms have gone bust since August as speculation on the gas futures market has seen wholesale prices double in weeks. The largest of those was Avro Energy, which had 580,000 customers before filing for insolvency in September.

Opposition Response


Labour Shadow Energy Minister Jonathan Reynolds took the opportunity to lay into the ruling Conservatives, insisting the crisis was "directly down to government policy". But he said his party would not nationalise the sector if it were in government, claiming to even suggest so would be "a distraction from the poor government choices that have been made".



Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the energy bill discount to elderly to be tripled.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×