Energy regulator Ofgem says the biggest companies are ‘overcharging in many cases’ as wholesale oil and gas costs plunge

A coalition of poverty groups, industry experts and politicians have piled new pressure on the big six energy suppliers to cut their bills, accusing them of ripping off customers at a time of steep falls in company wholesale costs.

The outburst of anger against the big six came as cold weather and huge declines in oil prices focused attention once again on an industry which has been out of the limelight due to an ongoing investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

With the industry regulator expressing concerns about profiteering, John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, demanded change: “When Ofgem is so clear that customers are being overcharged it has to be time for energy companies to cut their prices. The longer they delay the longer children suffer the ongoing damage that growing up in cold homes does to their health and wellbeing.”

Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said switching to other providers could be difficult for some and the big six should pass on savings: “Many older people will be feeling anxious about the current cold snap, not least because high heating costs are prohibitive for many, resulting in large numbers of older people finding it virtually impossible to stay adequately warm. This contributes to our country’s shameful record on winter deaths – worse than colder countries like Sweden.”

David Hunter, an analyst with energy manager Schneider Electric, also called on the big six to slash their bills, saying he had helped at least one domestic customer to cut their tariff by £500 a year.

“Despite the downward trend of wholesale energy prices over the past two years, with one exception, it has been a year since they cut gas tariffs and two years since electricity tariffs were touched,” he said.

Lisa Nandy, the shadow energy and climate change secretary, said the CMA must shake up the market as soon as possible.

“It’s glaringly obvious that too many families are still being ripped off by big energy companies who are prepared to chase profits at any cost to their customers. The excuses for inaction must now end ... The CMA must change the rules of the game.”

The competition authority, which has been examining the market for the past 18 months ago, said it expected to publish some remedies within weeks.

There have been fears in some quarters that it might be backtracking on some of its earlier tougher proposals such as a safeguard tariff with a maximum upper limit amid opposition from the industry.

Earlier this week a study from comparethemarket.com of 2,000 pensioners showed two in five of them would cut down on food and other necessities in a bid to keep the heating on and pay energy bills.

Amid growing criticism of Ofgem for going soft on the power companies, its chief executive, Dermot Nolan, joined the attack.

“I think they are overcharging in many cases,” Nolan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We really should be getting bigger retail cuts than we have seen so far,” he added.

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Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the lobby group Energy UK, defended the industry.

“Energy companies are bringing down their prices with cheaper tariffs launched almost every week. Since January 2014 the cheapest tariffs have fallen by around £200. There are now over 50 deals under £1,000 being offered by 30 suppliers operating in the market.