Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) today, said removing the cost of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) from energy bills meant “energy companies are able to cut their bills”.
Cameron told the House of Commons that SSE stated in their announcement that “the decisions taken by this government to reduce the cost of Eco were a principle factor in SSE being able to make this price commitment”.
He added: “The most important thing we can do is help energy companies reduce bills by rolling back the cost of these green levies and charges.
“And it’s only since we’ve done that we’ve seen energy company after energy company reduce the costs of people’s bills.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Prime Minister is “now the champion of the price freeze” although “week after week he denounced Labour’s call for an energy price freeze”.
Miliband, in a heated exchange at PMQs, added that Cameron’s argument against he price freeze – that it would be “unworkable” and “impossible to implement” had been “totally demolished”.
The leader of the opposition went on to say: “A price freeze is feasible, workable and it will happen under a Labour government.”
Elsewhere, Tim Yeo, chair of the Energy and Climate Change select committee has warned that SSE’s price freeze may not be as good as it first appeared.
He said: “At first glance SSE’s price freeze appears to be welcome news for consumers, but it follows several years of above inflation price hikes and SSE’s tariffs may still not be the most competitive on the market.”
Yeo added that SSE’s decision to cancel investment in four offshore windfarms “highlights the potential dangers of any promises to freeze the energy market” and that this in turn could lead to an investment shortfall and “could aggravate the coming crunch in generating capacity and increase the risk of blackouts in future”.
The GMB union also warned that SSE’s price freeze is not as good a deal as it initially sounds.
Gary Smith, GMB national secretary for energy, said the announcement was a “welcome respite” from rising energy prices.
He added: “Nobody should be under any illusions though as the politicians and companies are desperately trying to avoid price increases before a general election.
“The trend in prices is up and they are likely to go up sharply. Politicians are clueless in how they meet this challenge.”