Big Six beware: The government will look more closely at the UK’s energy market, chancellor Philip Hammond said in today’s Autumn Statement
The government will “not be afraid to intervene” in the UK’s retail energy market if there is evidence of market failure, chancellor Philip Hammond said yesterday.
“We will look carefully in the coming months at… key markets, including the retail energy market, to make sure they are functioning fairly for all consumers,” Hammond said in the Autumn Statement.
It had been expected that the Big Six energy suppliers would be told to offer fewer and simpler tariffs, as well as making it easier to switch between suppliers.
Read more: Most Big Six energy firms have hiked their cheapest tariffs since September
In June, the Competition and Markets Authority recommended a raft of proposals to make the market more competitive for consumers.
The Big Six firms consist of British Gas, E.On, EDF, npower, ScottishPower and SSE.