Scottish Power chief declares ‘war’ over Tory plan for British energy price-cap

The head of Scottish Power – which also owns a number of retail energy brands in England – has declared ‘war’ over a possible cap on UK energy prices.

Speculative press reports in England have suggested that the Tory Party will impose a cap on household gas and electricity bill in its manifesto the British election.

The UK energy supply sector – which includes Scottish Power and the other Big Five providers – is sceptical about the proposal, which could lead to even higher prices.

Scottish Power, one of the “Big Six” energy firms, said that the move would “stop competition” and “damage customers in the long run”.

Scottish Power’s chief corporate officer, Keith Anderson, said: “A price cap intervention in the market could have the unintended consequence of stifling competition.

“When companies do not compete as much, that tends to lead to fewer benefits for customers.”

“Instead focus should be on the the root cause of the problem, which is that far too many customers remain on Standard Variable Tariffs. 

“If there are plans to intervene, they should tackle the cause of the problem – Standard Variable Tariffs (SVT) – not just the symptom of current price pressure.  As Scottish Power recommend to the Competition and Markets Authority, a deadline should be set to abolish SVT so that all customers can engage even more in the competitive market.

“Scottish Power has taken a leading role amongst the larger energy suppliers by actively encouraging more than half of our customers to find a deal. But many companies still have over three quarters of customers on standard prices, with some over 90%.”