LONDON: Britain’s largest energy suppliers could face a price cap after a competition watchdog found they overcharged households by around 1.2 billion pounds each year ($1.9bn) between 2009 and 2013.

Britons have seen energy bills double in the last decade to 1,200 pounds a year, leading to allegations that utilities were cheating them and political pressure to curb increases. The utilities have denied ripping off customers.

The inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was launched a year ago to clear up once and for all whether the six largest suppliers were abusing their 90 per cent control of the market.

Britain’s biggest supplier, Centrica’s British Gas, even faced the threat of being broken up after a former energy minister raised the idea in a letter to the energy regulator. The CMA has now firmly ruled out such a radical step, saying in its initial findings that suppliers were acting within the law and not making excessive profits. Consumers who failed to switch energy provider were however paying too much, it added.

The idea of a cap on energy prices was floated by former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband when he promised to act on high bills as part of his unsuccessful campaign for the May election.

Centrica said it had concerns about some of the proposals, including the price cap. Its shares traded down 1.2pc at 1120 GMT, while rival energy supplier SSE saw its stock fall 1pc, modest declines reflecting relief at the initial outcome of the review. Britain’s largest energy suppliers are Centrica and SSE plus foreign-owned Scottish Power, RWE npower, E.ON and EDF Energy.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2015