Justina Miltienyte, head of policy at Uswitch.com, said: “The price cap has always been a sticking plaster to deal with the failures of the energy market. This proposed change is another attempted quick fix, aimed at helping suppliers rather than customers who are unable to switch to a better deal to escape its impact.
“A quarterly review will mean that consumers are less shielded from rising prices in the short term. The next price change due on 1 January - just after Christmas - is already expected to increase from the price projected in October.
“The more frequent review will eventually mean that if wholesale prices start falling, Ofgem will be able to pass these cuts onto bill-payers a little sooner. However, it is too early to predict when that will happen, as the market remains volatile.
"The cap fails to give real, meaningful help to those who need it the most and merely kicks the can down the road of the costs being passed through to customers on price capped tariffs.
“This has been brought into extreme focus as costs have rocketed and the majority of customers are now being impacted by these changes. More fundamental longer-term reform is still needed for the long term.”
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.
