Reader proposes government-funded energy price cap on an essential block of power and gas

Summary

A Guardian letter from Dr Alex Chapman calls for a government-funded price cap on an essential block of electricity and gas so that affordable energy is available to all. Responding to Nils Pratley's column, which urges the energy secretary to keep things simple and develop a targeted social tariff for vulnerable households, Chapman argues that such a scheme would be far from simple and would create a new benefits system inside the privatised energy industry. Chapman points to the failing social care system as a warning and says the New Economics Foundation has a plan for energy modelled on the universal public provision of adult social care that Andy Burnham is described as planning.

Timeline

1. The Guardian

   21 Oct 2026, 16:32 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian publishes a letter from Dr Alex Chapman, who calls for a government-funded price cap on an essential block of electricity and gas and argues that a targeted social tariff would be complicated and would create a new benefits system inside the privatised energy industry.