Truss ‘lying through her teeth’ on energy bills – Plaid Cymru

44.1% of Welsh homes will pay over £2,500

Plaid Cymru have calculated that 44.1% of homes in Wales will pay over £2,500 per year on energy bills, despite the Prime Minister Liz Truss repeatedly claiming this morning (Thursday 29 September) that “nobody” would be paying over that amount.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, criticised the Prime Minister for “lying through her teeth” to struggling Welsh households about their energy bills.

Ms Truss told BBC Radio Kent this morning that the government was “making sure that nobody is paying fuel bills of more than £2,500”. She made similar claims to BBC Radio Leeds, saying that “through the energy price guarantee the maximum will be £2,500”.

The UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee caps the price of a unit of gas and electricity, meaning that the average household will spend £2,500. It does not, as the Government suggest, ensure that no household pays more than £2,500 for their energy bills.

The Government’s own figures show that detached and semi-detached properties will on average pay £3,300 and £2,650, respectively, under the price guarantee.

25.1% of homes in Wales are semi-detached, and 19% are detached, meaning that 44.1% of homes will pay over £2,500 for energy bills under the price guarantee. This is significantly higher than in England, where it is estimated that 39.6% of homes will pay over the average sum.

Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“Liz Truss is lying through her teeth on energy bills. She claims that ‘nobody’ would pay fuel bills of more than £2,500 – but the reality is that 44.1% of Welsh homes are expected to be paying over that amount.

“People are facing an incredibly challenging winter. They need correct, reliable information to be able to make informed choices about their spending. The Prime Minister and Chancellor are, however, so lost in their own warped ideology that they no longer distinguish between fact and fiction.

“Let’s cut through the spin. We needed a real energy price cap – but the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee is not it. Plaid Cymru called for energy prices to be capped at pre-April levels. It’s time for Liz Truss to recognise her plan still leaves people struggling, and to use a new windfall tax to bring prices back down to the levels they were before April.”