The cap was never really intended to be a fixed price for electricity: the main purpose was to ensure people with an arbitrary supplier (chosen by previous tena

The cap was never really intended to be a fixed price for electricity: the main purpose was to ensure people with an arbitrary supplier (chosen by previous tenants, or the landlord, say) and who weren't canny enough to notice they were being overcharged and shop around, didn't get ripped off too badly. Lots of people who stayed with the descendant of their old regional electricity board paid over the odds, for example, because consumer inertia meant it was profitable for them not to have competitive prices. That all electricity prices are now essentially at the cap, so it's also acting as a floor, was not intended or particularly anticipated, I think.