The Prime Minister faced a barrage of criticism today after announcing that the government “will be legislating so that energy companies have to give the lowest tariff to their customers”.

Energy minister John Hayes was called to the House of Commons today to explain the pledge, which many have dismissed as unfeasible.

Responding to the announcement, Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said:

“This is yet another major embarrassment for a government so bereft of ideas that it has fallen to making up nonsensical, evidence-free policy on the hoof.

“That David Cameron chose to make a rash pledge about forcing energy companies to put all customers on the cheapest tariffs even against the advice of his own energy department speaks volumes about the Prime Minister’s shallow understanding of energy policy and his obsession with political point-scoring.

“It’s now clear that this proposal is completely unworkable and possibly even illegal under competition law, so it’s unsurprising that energy minister John Hayes today failed to confirm the pledge - with the shocking admission that he wasn’t even told about it in advance.

“If the main parties are really serious about protecting consumers from rising bills, then they must get serious about investing in an energy infrastructure that will provide the secure and sustainable energy that Britain needs in the years to come.

“In the upcoming energy bill, the government and the opposition should commit to a decarbonisation target to give the renewables industry confidence to invest, rule out a dash-for-gas which would leave consumers at the mercy of volatile gas prices, scrap costly nuclear and invest in strong energy efficiency measures.”

The Green MP continued:

“Switching can make a difference to bills, whether individually or collectively, and it’s right that energy companies should tell their customers if there is a cheaper tariff available.

“But providing more information to customers to switch merely from one giant multinational energy company to another will still leave the Big Six oligopoly intact and their profit margins growing.

“So what we need is a radical change ownership – a move towards many more independent generators, smaller companies located in the UK, and community and cooperatively owned energy generation.”

ENDS