The Telegraph reports that Ed Miliband is going to tell energy companies that they should cut their prices to reflect the fall in the oil price. The reasons why prices are not set to fall in line with the oil price are widely understood. In particular, there are going to be shortages of capacity expected this winter. Beyond that, many companies have already bought the power they will supply to consumers on the forward market. Even Robert Peston, the Government's favourite business journalist, has set out the series of reasons why we shouldn't expect energy prices to fall immediately in line with oil prices.
Instead of vainly hassling energy companies, Ed Miliband should concentrate on reducing the Government's contribution to high energy prices. 14% of the average domestic electricity bill is the result of ineffective Government climate change policies that provide massive subsidies to the owners of wind farms but do little to reduce emissions. If Miliband stopped posturing and scrapped those policies that would soon lead to big savings for struggling families.