National Energy Action (NEA) published its response to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) call for evidence on the future of the energy retail market on 21 January 20221. The charity's submission addresses the design of a green gas levy alongside consumer protections in the retail market1.
NEA states that its response recommends a set of measures "in order to achieve the best outcomes for consumers, no matter how they engage"1. These are a social tariff in addition to the Default Tariff Price Cap and the Warm Home Discount, additional regulatory protections for vulnerable households, and an improvement of the experience of prepayment customers1.
"A social tariff in addition to the Default Tariff Price Cap and WHD."
The response also sets out ways in which NEA says the retail market needs to evolve "to enable a lowest-cost, flexible and resilient energy system that continues to protect consumers"1. These cover ensuring the smart meter rollout works for prepayment customers, ensuring the market works for those who are digitally excluded, and ensuring there is sufficient transparency in the energy market1.
The published page gives the response's date as 21 January 2022 and links to a PDF of the full submission1. The document itself is not reproduced on the page, so the detailed reasoning behind each recommendation, and any figures NEA may have used to support them, have not been reported in the material available1. The page does not state how many responses BEIS received, nor when the department is expected to reply1.
Why it matters for households
The measures NEA raises go to how a household pays for its energy and how much protection it has when something goes wrong. A social tariff would sit alongside the existing Default Tariff Price Cap and the Warm Home Discount rather than replace them, according to the response1. For a household on a low income, that distinction matters: the price cap limits what suppliers can charge on a default tariff, while the Warm Home Discount is a one-off reduction on the bill, and a social tariff would be a separate mechanism again1.
The points on prepayment and digital exclusion concern how a household accesses its supply at all. Prepayment customers pay for energy before using it, and NEA's response calls for both an improvement in their experience and for the smart meter rollout to work for them1. Households that are digitally excluded, meanwhile, may not be able to manage an account, compare offers or take up online-only arrangements, which is the gap NEA's response addresses1. Transparency in the market affects whether a household can tell what it is being charged and why1.
None of this changes what a household pays today. The response is a submission to a government consultation, and the page does not indicate that any of the recommendations have been adopted1.
What happens next
No next steps are set out on the published page. It does not give a date for BEIS's response to the call for evidence, nor any timetable for decisions on a social tariff, the green gas levy or the other measures NEA recommends1. The full submission is available as a PDF linked from the page1.
The regulation and policy hub carries further coverage of retail market rules, and the Renewable Energy Consumer Code sets standards for the sale of renewable energy to domestic customers.