§ Mr. David HowellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the varying pattern of domestic electricity prices throughout England and Wales; and if he will publish a table giving the information he has received from the electricity distribution companies, as to their plans for price reductions to domestic consumers during the coming year and the part played by additional funds paid in advance before the levying of VAT on electricity, as from April of this year, in enabling electricity authorities to reduce their prices.
§ Mr. Charles WardleDomestic electricity prices are subject to certain price control formulae set by the Director General of Electricity Supply. The price controls are set on a comparable basis for each regional electricity company—REC—but take into account variations such as local conditions and the different customer bases in each region.
The plans for future electricity tariffs are a commercial matter for the public electricity suppliers, although all such suppliers will need to take the price controls into account when setting their tariffs.