Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what comparative assessment he has made of the accuracy of the estimate by (a) Octopus Energy and (b) the Office for Budget Responsibility of the cost to the public purse of the administration of Bulb Energy.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) figure has been forecast in accordance with usual processes. The OBR’s figures are a snapshot of Government’s potential financial exposure as per modelling undertaken in September 2022. They do not include the entity’s repayments of wholesale costs at the price cap, which may be more or less than the gross wholesale energy costs and are not an estimate of the likely net costs to the taxpayer from Bulb. Costs will continue to fluctuate, driven by market volatility meaning any published figures remain uncertain.