The UK’s ruling Conservative Party has promised to cap energy costs, causing share prices in Centrica, which owns British Gas, to fall 4.2%, whilst shares in SSE fell 3.2%. A spokesman for SSE said: “while we will work with an open mind with government on any reforms, we would always caution about the potential unintended consequences of any intervention in what is a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive market.” Both companies saw similar share price drops in 2013 when former Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to introduce an energy price freeze. Ministers have said that a cap on standard variable tariffs, paid by over two-thirds of households, would save families £100 ($128) on average each year. “Energy bills are rising faster than wages and inflation is running at double the rate of wage growth,” says John Hawksworth, chief economist for PwC.
The UK’s ruling Conservative Party has promised to cap energy costs, causing share prices in Centrica, which owns British Gas, to fall 4.2%, whilst shares in SSE fell 3.2%. Both companies saw similar share price drops in 2013 when former Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to introduce an energy price freeze. Ministers have said that a cap on standard variable tariffs, paid by over two-thirds of households, would save families £100 ($128) on average each year. “Energy bills are rising faster than wages and inflation is running at double the rate of wage growth,” says John Hawksworth, chief economist for PwC.