Centrica criticises Labour plans to freeze energy bills - UPDATE

25th Sep 2013 08:37

Utility group Centrica has criticised the Labour party for its plans to halt rising energy prices. On Tuesday, Ed Miliband pledged to freeze gas and electricity bills from May 2015 to January 2017 if his party were to return to power in 2015. That would equal average savings of £120 for households and £1,800 for businesses. However, the Chairman of Centrica, which owns British Gas, told the BBC that the party's plans had the potential to cause "economic ruin" for energy firms and said it would leave his and other businesses in a vulnerable position. "When costs are outside your control, but someone is fixing your price and putting a ceiling on it, the risk - of course - is that it is potentially a recipe for economic ruin for a company," he said. Power industry representative Energy UK said that while freezing the bill may be "superficially attractive", it would also "freeze the money to build and renew power stations, freeze the jobs and livelihoods of the 600,000-plus people dependent on the energy industry and make the prospect of energy shortages a reality, pushing up the prices for everyone". Ed Miliband responded by saying he would "take action" against any energy firm that refused to adhere to a price freeze and said the companies, which had warned of blackouts, were "unreliable witnesses". NR