Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026

The House of Commons voted on 22 April 2026 to approve the Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026, passing the measure by 380 votes to 7. The regulations extend the time limit within which ministers can use powers granted by the Energy Prices Act 2022, a piece of emergency legislation originally passed to allow government intervention in energy markets during the period of acute price volatility that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Energy Prices Act 2022 gave the government sweeping temporary powers to cap energy prices, subsidise household and business bills, and intervene in energy market arrangements. These powers were designed with a built-in expiry to ensure parliamentary oversight of emergency measures. By extending the time limit, Parliament is ensuring that ministers retain the legal authority to act swiftly if energy prices surge again, without needing to pass fresh primary legislation. This affects households and businesses across the United Kingdom who could benefit from government intervention should wholesale energy prices rise sharply. The vote was overwhelmingly cross-party, with Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Co-operative Party, Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and the Democratic Unionist Party all voting in favour. The only opposition came from four Reform UK MPs and one Ulster Unionist MP, making it one of the most lopsided divisions of recent months. This sits in a broader context of ongoing parliamentary debate about energy policy, with a related opposition day motion on oil and gas in March 2026 producing a much sharper party divide of 297 to 108, suggesting that while the retention of emergency energy powers commands near-consensus support, the broader direction of energy and fossil fuel policy remains genuinely contested.