But the plan has already drawn attacks from the Greens’ political opponents, keen to paint the left-wing challenger outfit as profligate.
The last time the U.K. government intervened with a universal cap on costs was in 2022, when then-Prime Minister Liz Truss froze average bills at £2,500 per year, after energy prices rocketed on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
That universal move ended up cost a whopping £23 billion. Polanski said his policy, which would freeze bills at £1,641 for the average household, would cost £8.4 billion, paid for in part through taxing high-polluting oil and gas firms in the North Sea.
Government ministers have already stressed that homes covered by the price cap would not see their bills rise before July.
But they are under pressure to get support in place for people exposed to bill spikes once the price cap runs out, after wholesale gas prices surged as a result of the Iran conflict.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said last week that the Treasury is looking at “targeted options” to help the poorest households. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday the government is not “ruling anything out.”
