Energy price cap falls – but Ofgem boss says it would be ‘helpful’ if govt brings back support for families
The energy price cap is going to fall in October – but the boss of Ofgem has warned families are “absolutely going to struggle” with their bills this winter.
A typical household paying by direct debit for gas and electricity will face an annual charge of £1,923 from October to December, a fall of about £150.
Despite that, millions of households could end up paying more because government support with bills – worth £66 a month – has now been withdrawn.
Energy price cap forecast
Speaking to Sky News, Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said it would be “helpful” if these subsidies were reintroduced by the government.
And he stressed that the regulator, the government and suppliers must work together to give vulnerable customers the support they need.
Downing Street has faced growing calls to explore alternatives to the price cap, such as a social tariff that would give cheaper gas and electricity to those in need.
Andrew Bowie, parliamentary undersecretary of state for nuclear and networks, told Sky News that the government “will consider any and all options moving forward”.
When asked whether the price cap will be looked at again, Mr Bowie said: “Over the period of its existence, the price cap has yielded hugely positive results for the British people.
“However, it is right that when times change, circumstances are looked at again, which is why we have a call for evidence open right now, which is why we’re reviewing how the energy market works in this country as a whole.
“We are determined to get it right moving forward.”
Citizens Advice has warned this winter could be “as bad, if not worse” than the last – and a record number of people are already behind on their energy costs.
Calling for the government to step in quickly with targeted support, it said: “The next few months will push households like these over the edge.”
Experts have warned that bills could head back above the £2,000 mark early next year.
Price cap changes announced
The price a supplier can charge for gas is falling from 6.9p to 6.89p per kilowatt hour (kWh) – with the cost of electricity dropping from 30.1p per kWh to 27.35p.
Weaker wholesale prices have led to this reduction – and Ofgem says the market is stabilising, with suppliers returning to a healthier financial position.
The price cap would have been lower still, by a further £100, if it had reflected a looming Ofgem calculation that gives a nod to reduced energy use.
The regulator has also unveiled measures to reduce costs for prepayment meter customers – alongside extra support for those at risk of disconnection from the network.
But there has also been a small increase to the earnings that energy firms can make per household – an extra £10 a year – most of which is ringfenced in the event of a supplier failure.
Ofgem says that, at the peak of the energy crisis, 30 suppliers went bust because they didn’t have enough capital in reserve to stay in business – adding £83 to the bills of all customers.
An ‘encouraging’ fall
Household consumption has fallen sharply following the bill shocks of the past 18 months.
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps described October’s fall in the price cap as “encouraging” – and claimed it was another milestone in the government’s promise to halve inflation.
“We are successfully driving Putin out of global energy markets so he can never again hold us to ransom, and we are boosting our energy independence to deliver cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy to British homes,” he added.
But Labour’s shadow energy and net zero secretary, Ed Miliband, claimed the latest price cap announcement “demonstrates the scandalous Tory cost of living crisis is still raging for millions of people”.
He claimed the government was siding with oil and gas companies making record profits, adding: “Higher energy bills are unfortunately here to stay under the Conservatives, even with this fall, bills are significantly higher than they were only three years ago.”
The next price cap announcement – covering January to March 2024 – will be made in three months’ time.
Read more:
Cost of living latest – as supermarket cuts prices
How will energy price cap affect your bills?
‘Millions’ will pay more
A thinktank has declared millions of the poorest households will pay more despite the price cap cut.
The Resolution Foundation blamed the withdrawal of energy support schemes and a rise in charges added to bills.
The price cap – which applies to England, Wales and Scotland – sets a limit on the amount suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity used and for the privilege of being connected to the energy network. The more you use, the more you pay.
Even at the reduced cap mark, it remains about £800 above 2019 levels at a time when families are dealing with high inflation and higher housing costs – mostly as a consequence of interest rate rises by the Bank of England intended to dull the pace of price rises in the economy.
Ofgem has said it now expects suppliers to continue improving service and support their most vulnerable customers.
David Cheadle, chief operating officer at the Money Advice Trust, said it is an “extremely worrying time” for households struggling to keep up with their bills – and many consumers will face “impossible choices without further support”.
UK
How Britain’s most notorious gangster turned up at a charity lunch to fact-check a retired detective’s talk
Britain’s most notorious gangster and the detective who pursued him have been involved in a bizarre confrontation…at a charity lunch.
Former Detective Superintendent Ian Brown was at a Kent golf club and about to give a talk on the infamous £26m Brink’s-Mat gold robbery when he was summoned from the stage by officials.
Mr Brown, who appeared on the award-winning Sky News StoryCast podcast The Hunt For The Brink’s-Mat Gold in 2019, said: “I go outside and they say ‘he’s here’ and I say ‘who’s here’ and they say that table over there in the corner, that’s Kenny Noye with a baseball cap pulled down over his head.”
Noye stabbed to death an undercover policeman during the Brink’s-Mat investigation, but was acquitted of murder, though he was jailed for handling the stolen gold.
After his release, he used a knife again in the M25 road-rage murder of motorist Stephen Cameron.
“They said what are we going to do?” said Mr Brown.
“I said are you serving food? Well, just use plastic knives.”
Former Detective Superintendent Ian Brown. Pic: Robert Mulhern
Although Mr Brown had not personally arrested Noye over Brink’s-Mat he had identified him as a suspect months after the robbery.
Years later he met him during an ill-fated TV interview in which he quizzed him about his role in the robbery.
He said: “He told me everything I wanted to know except the truth. He still insists he had nothing to do with it.”
The interview was never broadcast after the prison authorities threatened to send Noye back to jail for a breach of his parole.
Read more:
What happened to the Brink’s-Mat gold?
Kenneth Noye, left, and Stephen Cameron
Mr Brown, 86, said: “I went over to him and said ‘thanks for coming, nice of you to pop in’, but I don’t believe you’ve turned up with your sons and grandkids to listen to me telling how you killed a police officer.
“And he said ‘I want to make sure you don’t say I’ve been dealing drugs’ and I said ‘I’ve never said that Kenny’.”
The retired detective told Noye he wasn’t going to change his presentation just because he was there.
“He said ‘mate, I wouldn’t expect you to and I’ll come up [on stage] if you want me to’.
“Can you think how he’s turned up with his family to listen to somebody talking about you killing the police? Now, you put logic on that.”
The bizarre story emerged when I rang Mr Brown after I’d been told about the meeting.
A Sky News podcast told the story of the Brink’s-Mat heist in 2019
I also wanted to ask him about the recent BBC hit drama series The Gold which retold the story of the Brink’s-Mat heist at Heathrow Airport in 1983.
“It was an absolute shambles, far too much dramatic licence and the real story was so much better,” said the ex-detective, whose job had been to follow the trail of the 6,800 gold bars to the US and the Caribbean.
He said he chatted to one of the show’s writers for a long time in a phone call but then heard no more.
“They invented people, changed a bit here and there and made it politically correct in so many ways. I’m just very sad that that is what people will believe.
“And I couldn’t work out who my character was supposed to be. I could have been one of the female cops.”
He also criticised the portrayal of Noye, now 78, as a likeable jack-the-lad character when the truth about the double killer with a volatile temper was quite different.
Oasis have reunited on stage for the first time in almost 16 years – with brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher sharing a high five and the briefest of hugs as they closed a performance that for fans was more than worth the wait.
After the split in 2009, for many years Noel said he would never go back – and for a long time, as the brothers exchanged insults through separate interviews (and on social media, for Liam), it seemed pretty unlikely to ever happen.
But now, here they are. As they walked out on stage at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, all eyes were on the Gallaghers for a sense of their relationship – dare we say it, friendship? – now after all these years.
There was no reference to their fall-out or making up, but the gestures were there – lifting hands together as they walked out for the first time.
The headline “OASIS REUNITED” was shown on stage at the gig. Pic: PA
Fans at the Oasis gig. Pic: PA
Headlines and tweets of speculation and then confirmation of the reunion filled the screens as the show started. “This is happening,” said one, repeatedly.
In the end, it was all about the music.
Liam has received criticism in the past for his voice not being what it once was during his solo or Beady Eye performances, but back on stage with his brother tonight he delivered exactly what fans would have hoped for – a raw, steely-eyed performance, snarling vocals, and the swagger that makes him arguably the greatest frontman of his day.
This was Oasis sounding almost as good as they ever have.
Fans sang along and held up their phones to film as Oasis performed. Pic: PA
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Oasis: ‘It’s good to be back’
They opened with Hello, because of course, “it’s good to be back”. And then Acquiesce, and those lyrics: “Because we need each other/ We believe in one another.”
The song is said to be about friendship in the wider sense, rather than their brotherly bond and sibling rivalry, but you can’t help but feel like it means something here.
Over two hours, they played favourite after favourite – including Morning Glory, Some Might Say, Cigarettes & Alcohol, Supersonic and Roll With It.
Liam Gallagher as Oasis takes to the stage in Cardiff. Pic: PA
In the mid-section, Liam takes his break for Noel to sing Talk Tonight, Half The World Away and Little By Little; the tempo slows but there is by no means a lull, with the fans singing all his words back to him.
Liam returns for hits including Stand By Me, Slide Away, Whatever and Live Forever, before sending the crowd wild (or even wilder) with Rock And Roll Star.
Noel Gallagher performing on stage. Pic: PA
An Oasis fan is pointing at the stage during the gig. Pic: PA
When the reunion announcement was made last summer, it quickly became overshadowed by the controversy of dynamic pricing causing prices to rocket. As he has done on X before, Liam addressed the issue on stage with a joke.
“Was it worth the £4,000 you paid for the ticket?” he shouted at one point. “Yeah,” the crowd shouts back; seemingly all is forgiven.
After Rock And Roll Star, the dream that very quickly became a reality for this band, Noel introduced the rest of the group, calling Bonehead a “legend”.
Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs of Oasis. Pic: PA
Liam Gallagher carried a tambourine in his mouth during the concert. Pic: PA
Then he acknowledges all their young fans, some who maybe weren’t even born when they split. “This one is for all the people in their 20s who’ve never seen us before, who’ve kept this shit going,” he says before the encore starts with The Masterplan.
Noel follows with Don’t Look Back In Anger, and the screens fill with Manchester bees in reference to the arena bombing and how the song became the sound of hope and defiance for the city afterwards.
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‘I’d have paid £10,000 to see them’
Two fans sat on their friends’ shoulders as Oasis performed. Pic: PA
During Wonderwall, there’s a nice touch as Liam sings to the crowd: “There are many things I would like to say to you, but I don’t speak Welsh.”
It is at the end of Champagne Supernova, which closes the set, that it happens; Noel puts down his guitar, and they come together for a high-five and a back-slap, a blink-and-you’d miss it hug.
Read more:
What you need to know about the Oasis tour
Liam Gallagher hits out at council after fans branded ‘rowdy’
“Right then, beautiful people, this is it,” Liam had told the crowd as he introduced the song just a few minutes earlier. “Nice one for putting up with us over the years.”
From the roar of the audience, it’s safe to say most people here would agree it’s been worth it.
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