Energy price hikes to impact greatly on households

An MP’s committee has recently stated that the rising cost of energy in the near future is set to have a profound impact on households as well as on thousands of jobs in the manufacturing sector. The Business and Enterprise Select Committee issues a report that stated these problems could arise if prices remain higher in the UK than throughout the rest of Europe.

The report went on to state that these problems needed to be urgently addressed, but it did add that there was no evidence of collusion between energy firms to keep prices high. Energy suppliers have blamed the high cost of wholesale energy for the prices hikes, and some providers have already hiked up energy costs twice this year.

The report stated that “the UK’s energy markets are not functioning as efficiently as they should”. It added: “Industrial consumers now face prices above European levels.” It continued: “If these price differentials are sustained, they will affect the competitiveness of the UK economy.”

However, the committee chairman said: “Just because we have found no evidence of collusion does not mean we have given the big six energy companies a clean bill of health – far from it.”