Scottish Secretary "stands up for energy consumers" at summit
The Minister met the energy companies, consumer groups and regulator at a meeting in Bathgate
Michael Moore has held meetings with energy companies, consumer groups and Ofgem today (Thursday 20 October) to help find ways to help people get their bills down and cut through the bewildering array of tariffs and packages currently on offer.
The Minister met representatives of the big six energy companies in Bathgate, days after the Energy Secretary held a similar meeting in London.
He said: “This winter we want people across Scotland to be paying as little as possible for their energy. While we can’t control the volatility of energy prices, with world energy prices up 29%, but we can look at ways to help the consumer cut through the mass of confusing tariffs and pricing that currently exists to make sure they get the best deal. We want to work with the energy companies to make that happen.
“The UK Government is taking robust, targeted action on this issue. We’re paying a £120 rebate to more than 600,000 of our most vulnerable pensioners and we’re maintaining the vital winter fuel payment and cold weather payments.”
Last Friday, Ofgem announced radical reforms which will overhaul and simplify tariffs, protecting consumers from price rises and hidden charges and encouraging new players, like supermarkets and co-operatives, to enter energy markets by forcing suppliers to sell more of their electricity on the open market. Ofgem is being given significantly enhanced powers to implement these changes as quickly as possible.
The government is also working with Ofgem on:
- Fines on miss-selling
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Ensuring consumers can get money back on redress
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Simplifying tariffs so people can get better deals