Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
18%
3 of 17 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
67/100
Evening Standard's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Britain’s energy watchdog has launched a consultation on plans to reintroduce a measure to help protect suppliers from big swings in gas and electricity prices as the Iran war continues to impact wholesale markets.
asserted
war → launch → markets
Ofgem said it was looking at activating its market stabilisation charge, which is designed to help prevent energy suppliers from collapsing when wholesale energy prices fall back sharply amid volatile markets.
asserted
prices → say → markets
Suppliers can be left vulnerable when they have bought energy in advance at a high price and could then suffer financial losses if prices later tumble sharply and high numbers of customers switch to other firms in search of cheaper deals.
uncertain
numbers → leave → deals
It works by ensuring the supplier which gains a customer through switching pays a charge to partially compensate the provider that lost the customer.
asserted
that → work → customer
Ofgem said reactivating it would not automatically create charges or push up customer bills, stressing that payments between suppliers would only be made if wholesale prices fell sharply enough.
asserted
prices → say → suppliers
He said: “In a nutshell, it means if wholesale energy prices drop sharply, the cheap fixes and switchers’ deals offered will be a lot more expensive, in order to protect energy firms’ profits.
asserted
fixes → say → profits
“That’s because any firm taking on a new customer, including on a cheap fix or other specialist tariff, will have to pay compensation to that customer’s old supplier, if they switch.
asserted
they → ’ → supplier
It’s basically a form of switching penalty.”
asserted
It → ’ → penalty
Households have already been hit with a 4% hike to Ofgem’s energy price cap from October 1, with forecasters warning power bills could soar by almost another £300 from January.
uncertain
bills → hit → January
Neil Kenward, interim director general of markets, said: “We’re preparing for what is likely to be a difficult winter for many households.
asserted
what → say → households
“While the energy market is stronger than it was during the energy crisis, volatility remains and the market stabilisation charge helps to protect consumers from that volatility.”
asserted
charge → remain → volatility
Read More
He added: “In volatile market conditions, it’s important that suppliers can continue to secure the energy their customers need without taking unsustainable risks.
asserted
customers → read → risks
“By acting now, we can help maintain a stable and resilient energy market and protect consumers from the costs and disruption that can arise when markets become unstable.”
asserted
markets → act → costs
But Mr Lewis said: “This is a ‘market stabilisation charge’ but the supplier market is pretty stable, and I doubt we are at the domino risk of suppliers going bust in the way they did in the early 2020s.
asserted
they → say → 2020s
“A good few energy firms have made large profits since then, and protecting them over winter by effectively dampening competition because it’s ‘not their fault’ feels raw.”
asserted
’s → make → competition
Ed Rees, head of retail policy at Energy UK, said it was right for Ofgem to look at using the stabilisation measure again.
asserted
Ofgem → say → measure
He said: “While Ofgem has brought in measures to strengthen the financial resilience of suppliers to help withstand volatile wholesale price swings, it remains the case that these are out of suppliers’ control and when the sector is carrying a record amount of customer debt – expected to reach £7 billion by the end of the year – the risks certainly haven’t disappeared.
“Suppliers have returned to making small profits after years of losing money – but an expected £5-£6 profit per customer across the sector last year could hardly be described as large.”
uncertain
profit → say → sector
The Aporia
