§ Mr. Warrenasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will examine the workings of section 37(8) of the Electricity Act 1947, in so far as it permits electricity boards to show undue preference in their tariff structure against supplying small users of electricity by the institution of standing charges as a substantial proportion of these customers' bills.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe setting of tariffs is the responsibility of area boards. I understand that it is the 223W industry's policy that all tariffs should reflect as far as possible the cost of supplying different classes of consumer. This applies to the standing charge in tariffs for small users, which reflects the fixed costs of supply incurred by the industry irrespective of the amount of electricity consumed—for example metering, meter reading and billing. I am advised that in these circumstances there is no undue discrimination against consumers, though I appreciate that, as a consequence, the standing charge forms a higher proportion of the bill for small consumers of electricity.