Small energy suppliers could be given further 'green tax' exemptions Þ Regulator Ofgem is to review companies" transparency Þ The process of switching energy suppliers will be speeded up Four of the Big Six have raised their energy tariffs by an average of 9pc in recent weeks, taking a typical bill to nearly £1,500, and have held rising 'green taxes" partly to blame. Ministers say the levies make up £112 on a typical bill, but have given small suppliers exemptions from paying some of them. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) insulation scheme, which costs at least £50 per household, only applies when a supplier has 250,000 customer accounts or 125,000 dual-fuel customers. Mr Fallon said: "We are looking very hard at how we can encourage the smaller companies to grow; for example, the ECO threshold, which we have already increased once. If we increased it further... that would encourage them to grow. That's something we are looking at. British Gas and nPower have both lobbied for a cut in the exemptions for small suppliers, claiming they distort the market. But Mr Fallon said: "The Big Six have a huge share of the market and we need to light matches under their feet." First Utility, thought to be the only small supplier big enough to pay ECO so far, and Ovo Energy, have both said they are happy to pay the levies - if ministers create a level playing field by tackling other advantages enjoyed by the Big Six. Ministers are also considering overhauling the controversial ECO scheme to cut costs for all suppliers, or funding it and other schemes by general taxation instead as part of a pledge by the Prime Minister to 'roll back" green taxes. Mr Fallon dismissed calls from energy giants EDF and E.On for a full-scale Competition Commission review into the sector, which they believe would clear their names, saying the new annual review by Ofgem in collaboration with other competition authorities would be more effective. "We want competition now; the problem with a Competition Commission inquiry is it would take two years, probably more," he said. John Cridland, the CBI director-general, told the Telegraph it was "not proven" that there was a competition problem but that a test and greater transparency should answer the question. He also called for ministers to axe the carbon tax, which he said was an even more damaging cost burden to businesses than the ECO scheme was to household customers. "I see no good reason on the altar of low carbon to make it impossible for energy intensive sectors to maintain manufacturing capacity in the United Kingdom," he said. The Chancellor needs to look again at the raking up of the carbon floor price because for business consumers that's actually much more material than ECO is for retail consumers. Mr Davey told MPs he was looking at introducing "criminal sanction" against companies that manipulate the energy markets - bringing rules for the energy industry into line with the banking sector, where misconduct can end in a jail term. Regulator Ofgem and the Financial Conduct Authority are already investigating allegations of potential gas price manipulation.