Liz Truss has repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that all energy bills will be capped at £2,500 as a maximum – but that’s not the whole truth, as even British Gas pointed out.
The prime minister has appeared in local, national and international media interviews trying to explain what support her government is providing to the general public amid the energy crisis.
Energy regulator Ofgem was set to raise the cap on bills to be around £3,500 from October 1 for the typical household, increasing to £4,200 come January.
Then, in parliament on September 8, the prime minister promised that the government would “freeze” energy bills at around £2,500 instead, rather than letting them climb for the next two years.
(New chancellor Jeremy Hunt has since cut this two-year “freeze” to just six months, ending in April 2023.)
But, as Truss said during her September announcement, this was only the amount the government expects the typical household to have to pay – not a promise which applies to all households, no matter how much they use and what property they live in.
That’s not what Truss has been saying to the media and the public, though.
She told BBC Radio Kent: “We have taken action by the government stepping in, making sure that nobody is paying fuel bills of more than £2,500.”
The prime minister repeated this claim throughout her local media broadcast round.
But, this isn’t true.
Even British Gas has put out the correct explanation on its own app “to avoid confusion”.
As Full Fact, a fact-checking charity, explained, even the government’s own assessments note that this is only the amount a typical household will pay for the next two years.
The charity even wrote to the prime minister after she repeated the claim during an interview on CNN, noting: “As per the government’s own figures on the impact of the Energy Price Guarantee, it is not the case that ‘no household’ will pay more than £2,500 on their bills.
“This figure is based on what a ‘typical’ household with average use will pay, based on average energy usage.
“Depending on property type and energy usage, some households will pay more than this, although some will pay less.”
Downing Street’s own Energy Price Guarantee also showed that there will be a range of annual energy bills for different households over the next two years, back when the freeze was expected to last for that long.
For instance, the average detached property will pay £3,300 in yearly energy bills while a converted flat will pay an average of £1,950.
Full Fact concluded: “This isn’t good enough.The public deserves to know what bills they should expect this winter.
“Suggesting there is a hard cap on bills risks vulnerable people thinking they can use as much energy as they want for £2,500.
“The prime minister should publicly correct her claim.”
Full Fact and British Gas aren’t the only one to notice either.
MoneySavingExpert, Martin Lewis, has repeatedly claimed out the confusion around the energy price cap freeze on Twitter.
Presenter for ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Susanna Reid, also pointed out that the cap is based on “per unit of energy not per bill”.
Others pointed it out, too.