The chancellor is gambling that wholesale prices come down by the end of the year. What’s his plan B if they don’t?
The advance version of Rishi Sunak’s grand bargain for the retail energy sector, to be presented in full on Thursday, sounds a reasonable fudge. All households will probably get a £200 rebate off their bills, to be funded via vast loans to the supply companies; and low-income and vulnerable customers will get further support from the public purse.
In its own terms, it’s coherent: knock the sharp edges off April’s hike in bills and pray that wholesale gas prices plunge before next winter. But let us hope the chancellor answers this question: what’s plan B if wholesale prices don’t fall over the course of the year?
