Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Climate Change Amber Rudd has said that Labour price freeze promise which was reiterated at Energy UK’s annual conference by Caroline Flint (22nd October 2014) is already harming investment in energy infrastructure.
“Without investment, we risk a return to the lights going out. I am also clear that the role of Government is not to fix prices. Indeed, the price freeze proposal put forward by Labour is already having a detrimental impact on investment – with some reports suggesting a £3 billion shortfall in investment in the energy sector over the past year. And a price freeze would ultimately drive up costs for the very consumers Labour say they are trying to help.”
There have also been suggestions that prices may have fallen for consumers but that energy companies are waiting to see if Labour wins the next election and enacts the price freeze.