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| Ofgem to introduce price cap for pre-pay energy meters | Ofgem to introduce price cap for pre-pay energy meters |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ofgem has said millions of pre-pay energy customers will be protected by an interim price cap from next April. | |
| The cap will save "vulnerable" households using pre-pay energy meters about £75 a year, the regulator said. | |
| Ofgem said it would also work with suppliers to help "disengaged" customers on "expensive standard variable tariffs" to shop around more. | Ofgem said it would also work with suppliers to help "disengaged" customers on "expensive standard variable tariffs" to shop around more. |
| It added that smart meters and faster switching would help transform the energy market for customers. | |
| Ofgem also backed proposals published last month by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) aimed at reforming the energy market. | Ofgem also backed proposals published last month by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) aimed at reforming the energy market. |
| It said the proposals were an "opportunity to deliver a more competitive, fairer energy market for all consumers". | It said the proposals were an "opportunity to deliver a more competitive, fairer energy market for all consumers". |
| Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan said the CMA's final report was a watershed moment for both the industry and consumers and pointed the way to a "fairer and more competitive future". | |
| "I call on energy companies and consumer groups to seize this opportunity," he said. | |
| 'More effective' | |
| According to the CMA's two-year investigation, two-thirds of UK households were paying "over the odds" for their energy compared to those who have switched to a different tariff. | |
| To encourage more switching, Ofgem planned to trial "more effective prompts" on customers' bills to encourage them to compare different tariffs. | |
| However, Ofgem said it would not be capping standard variable energy tariffs. | |
| Mr Nolan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the CMA had decided that capping standard tariffs was not in the best interests of customers. | |
| Instead, the CMA had proposed "a serious of remedies", said Mr Nolan, adding they would make the market fairer and encourage customers to switch energy suppliers. | |
| Ofgem believed encouraging competition was the best protection for consumers, he added, and said switching rates had increased over the last year. |