Government denies asking Big Six for energy price freeze The Prime Minister said: "I've said all along I want households and families to have sustainably low energy prices now and the only way you can do that is by increasing competition and rolling back some of the costs of some of the levies. I've said that's what we're going to do and that is what we're going to do. "That's a world away from saying you might do something in 20 months" time and with no ideas about how to do it. That is a con. We're talking about real policy. Government sources went further, denying ministers had asked companies for a price freeze and saying they had merely sought information from the suppliers on the costs of levies and charges for the purpose of designing their policy. A Number 10 source said: "This story is utterly misleading. The Government has not asked for a price freeze. People should wait for us to announce our plans. Ed Miliband sparked a political war of words over the cost of living by promising in September that a Labour government would freeze energy bills for 20 months if the party was elected in 2015. In response, the Government is planning to extend deadlines for companies to meet green obligations under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) free insulation and boilers scheme from two years to four - which should cut each household gas and electricity bills by at least £50. Ministers also plan to fund the Warm Homes Discount for elderly Britons through general taxation, rather than through a levy on household bills. Senior energy industry sources claimed talk of the Government wanting a "price freeze" until 2015 were wide of the mark and that the Coalition simply wanted to ensure that if bills have to rise, they are not blamed. One senior source said: "It's not a price freeze in the Ed Miliband sense. They're essentially saying if we extend ECO and fund the Warm Homes discount through general taxation, we don't want any price rise blamed on us before the Election. George Osborne, the Chancellor, has so far steadfastly insisted he was not going to replace a Labour gimmick with another one. A source at one of the big six energy suppliers told the BBC they wanted to make the price freeze happen but needed the Government to change their obligations on energy efficiency under ECO to make this possible. It is understood that the Government is seeking to extend the cost of the ECO from the current 27 months to four years. Others have said increasing costs as a result of Government policies on the carbon price floor and renewables made freezing prices impossible for energy firms. Philip Hammond, a cabinet minister, has said Labour's pledge to freeze prices had hit a nerve with the Government and they needed concrete policies of their own that addressed the challenge of energy bills for householders.