Daily Times

LONDON: A plan by Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party to cap energy prices suggests some in her government do not believe in free markets at a time when it is pinning its post-Brexit hopes on free trade, the head of the country’s leading provider said.

Shares in Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and SSE, fell sharply on Monday after May’s party set out plans to hold down the prices households pay for gas and electricity which have doubled in the last decade.

Iain Conn, the chief executive of market leader Centrica, said the proposal would damage competition and wipe out any money it made from consumers, forcing it to cut costs and reduce its service. “I’m the first to admit that the UK market is not perfect,” Conn told BBC Radio. “I just don’t think that capping prices is the right way to help the market and it probably will have unintended consequences.”

“I think there are some at the heart of government who just don’t believe in free markets and I find that concerning at a time when this market is highly competitive and the UK is seeking to forge a new future relying upon free trade with the rest of the world.”