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Ed Miliband: ''Let's reduce energy bills for consumers... as well as having our freeze to guarantee that bills won't rise''
The energy regulator Ofgem should be given new powers to force firms to cut gas and electricity bills - to reflect falls in wholesale energy prices, Ed Miliband has said.
The Labour leader told Andrew Marr he would demand fast-track legislation on energy in a Commons debate next week.
Ofgem currently does not have the power to force a reduction in prices.
Trade body Energy UK said suppliers were already passing on price cuts to customers.
Wholesale energy costs have been dropping in recent months, with the price of a barrel of Brent Crude oil falling to below $50 this week.
'Immediate relief'In an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Miliband said: "We do want to see those wholesale costs passed on to consumers.
"We're going to bring before the House of Commons a vote in Parliament to say the government should bring forward fast-track legislation to ensure that we give the regulator...the power to cut prices."
"We see wholesale costs go down 20% in gas prices over the last year and no reduction in bills."
The vote called by Labour during an opposition day debate on Wednesday would give Ofgem "the power to cut prices to bring immediate relief", Mr Miliband said.
He suggested that the necessary legislation could be pushed through Parliament before the general election on 7 May.
Chancellor George Osborne has launched a Treasury investigation into whether energy companies are passing on the savings from falls in the wholesale price of oil.
Mr Miliband said the government should "put their money where their mouth is".
"We are going to have a vote this week on this measure. We want the government to support us, we want the Liberal Democrats to support us."
A spokesman for Energy UK said no new powers were needed, adding: "Energy suppliers are already passing on price cuts to customers. With over 25 suppliers in the market, competitive pressure is forcing down prices every week.
"When people shop around they can easily find deals that are over £100 cheaper than this time last year and line with with falls in the wholesale energy price part of energy bills."
Ofgem said: "We've made it clear that we think energy suppliers should explain more clearly why the consistent fall in wholesale price hasn't fed through to consumer prices."
'Wage index'In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Miliband also discussed the terror threat following the Paris attacks, problems in the NHS and Conservative plans to make it harder to stage public sector strikes.
The Labour leader has called for a new Living Standards Index to track how people's finances are affected by changes to wages, prices, taxes and benefits.
He has written to the UK Statistics Authority, suggesting this quarterly index should have equal status to other official measures.
Labour is proposing that the new indicator would be drawn up by the Office for National Statistics, and the Office for Budget Responsibility would be expected to issue LSI forecasts in the same way as it does for gross domestic product.
"At the moment we have the growth figures, the GDP figures, that come out, and lots of people look at those figures... and think, 'That doesn't seem to accord with what's happening in my life'," Mr Miliband said.
"We measure all kinds of things but the only thing we don't measure is the thing that matters most, and by which I will judge my government - the living standards of working people."
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