'I'm sorry I wasn't specific': Truss apologises to LBC for failing to be clear about £2,500 energy bill cap
4 October 2022, 08:39 | Updated: 4 October 2022, 09:21
Liz Truss has apologised for "not being more specific" when she previously spoke about energy bills being capped at £2,500.
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The Prime Minister has been criticised for giving the appearance that her scheme was an absolute limit instead of a cap based on per unit of energy used.
There were fears that households might use up more heating over winter than they otherwise would – amid soaring bills – believing they would not have to fork out exorbitant sums before being saddled with a hefty charge.
Ms Truss made repeated claims about the energy price cap in a series of disastrous media interviews last week.
She told local BBC radio: "The biggest part of the package we announced is the support on energy bills, making sure that people across this country are not facing energy bills of more than £2,500 and that businesses can get through this winter."
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She told another station: "We have taken action by the government stepping in and making sure that nobody is paying fuel bills of more than £2,500."
But speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, she admitted she was wrong to describe it like that and "should have been more specific".
Liz Truss apologises for incorrect £2.5K energy bill claim
After Nick took her through the interviews, Ms Truss responded: "I was talking about the typical bill. What we're actually doing is capping it per unit of energy and the number I gave was for the typical household."
Pushed again, she said: "Well I'm sorry I wasn't more specific, I should have been more specific."
"You say you got that wrong?" Nick asked her.
"I agree, I should have been more specific."
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Despite her repeated claims that no household will pay more than £2,500, it is clear some will.
The policy, called the Energy Price Guarantee, is a cap on the unit of gas or electricity a household uses.
In Great Britain, customers on a standard variable tariff who pay by direct debit will have their prices capped at 34p for each kWh of electricity used and 10.3p for every kWh of gas.
The Government believes that based on the median consumption of energy by British households in 2019, the average household will pay £2,500 a year for two years.
