Miliband must take action to fix Britain's energy crisis.

Mere months after the last energy price hike, Ofgem has revealed that April’s price cap will increase household bills by £111 – that’s 6 per cent higher than expected and 9 per cent higher than this time last year, bringing the average to £1,849 per year.

- JAMES MOORE

“Rising global wholesale prices for energy are the main reason for the increase” is what Ofgem cited as the motive behind the move. But this just feels like an excuse when we look at the very real fact that Britain already has some of the highest prices in Europe, and many families and elderly people are struggling to keep up.

To put it into perspective, of the 33 European capital cities included in the Household Energy Price Index published in December 2024, London was the fourth most expensive at 36.5 cents (€) per kilowatt hour (kWh), beaten only by Germany (40.23¢), Denmark (37.31¢) and Belgium (36.91¢).

Now, of course this figure is based on several variables: the source of the energy (coal, nuclear, gas, renewables, oil), the way it is taxed, and any subsidies that may exist. However, if you strip out energy network charges and taxes, Germany would rank 10th, lower than Britain, Italy and the Netherlands.

To his credit, Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley acknowledged the increase “puts families under huge stress and increases costs for all customers”. But he also outlined that energy debts “began during the energy crisis have reached record levels and without intervention will continue to grow”.

He’s right, of course. But, Mr Brearley, would you like to tell us when that investment is going to be delivered?