The government withdrew the Energy Security Bill factsheet on the default tariff (price cap) on 29 December 2022, according to the update log on the factsheet collection page1. The same entry records that the government removed the Energy Price Cap measure from the Energy Security Bill, and that the measure has been superseded by amendments to the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 made by the Energy Prices Act 20221.
The Energy Security Bill, now known as the Energy Bill, was introduced to Parliament on 6 July 2022, with the stated aim of delivering "a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy system"1. The factsheet collection was first published on 6 July 2022 and last updated on 1 September 20231. The withdrawal of the default tariff factsheet is dated 29 December 2022 in the page's list of updates1.
"The Energy Security Bill factsheet: Default tariff (price cap) has been withdrawn. The government has removed the Energy Price Cap measure from the Energy Security Bill. The measure has been superseded by the amendments to the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 made by the Energy Prices Act 2022."
The same page records other changes to the factsheet set. On 6 June 2023 a factsheet on the Ofgem net zero duty was added1. On 9 May 2023 factsheets were added covering Great British Nuclear, the network charging compensation scheme for energy intensive industries, hydrogen transport and storage business models, and the retention, reporting and disclosure of carbon dioxide storage information and samples1. On 20 March 2023 the heat networks regulation and zoning factsheet was updated, and on 9 March 2023 a factsheet on recycled carbon fuels and nuclear derived fuels for transport was published alongside an update to the overarching factsheet covering offshore wind deployment and transport decarbonisation1. The most recent update, on 1 September 2023, revised the factsheet on powers to make or change energy performance of buildings regulations (energy certificates) to reflect a tabled amendment1.
The page does not state what the withdrawn factsheet contained, nor whether a replacement document was issued. It also does not set out how the Energy Prices Act 2022 amendments differ in effect from the measure removed from the Bill. Those points have not been reported on the page1.
Why it matters for households
The default tariff cap, usually called the price cap, is the limit on what suppliers can charge households on a default or standard variable tariff. The Energy Price Cap: How the Default Tariff Cap Is Set explains how that limit is calculated. The legislative route for the cap changed: rather than sitting in the Energy Bill, the relevant powers now rest on amendments to the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018 made by the Energy Prices Act 20221. For a household, the practical effect is that the cap's legal basis moved to a different statute, not that the cap itself was abolished; the page does not say the cap ended1.
The withdrawal is a documentation change as much as a policy one. The factsheet that explained the measure to readers was taken down, and no replacement is recorded on the page1. Households trying to follow how the cap is set, and how it interacts with schemes such as the Energy Price Guarantee, now have one fewer official explainer to work from. The wider picture of how bills and the cap fit together is set out in Energy Bills and the Price Cap: The Full UK Guide, and the relationship between bills and supply security is covered in Energy Bills and Energy Independence.
What happens next
The page records no further steps tied to the withdrawal. Its last update, on 1 September 2023, concerned the energy performance of buildings regulations factsheet, not the price cap1.