The Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the government is committed to its “big stick” energy policy, despite choosing not to bring it on for a vote in parliament.

The draft laws have been stuck in the lower house limbo since December, and are expected to stay there until budget week.

The proposal includes penalties and powers to break-up energy companies that do not do enough to reduce prices for consumers.

“We're taking on those big energy companies to ensure they're doing the right thing by Australians,” Mr Morrison told parliament this week.

“Our policies are designed to ensure there is reliable energy in the grid to ensure power prices come down and Australians can have the reliability that their lights stay on.”

Labor treasury spokesperson Chris Bowen says the Government “can't even be bothered” to bring a vote on its “hopeless” energy policy.

“We would have opposed this ‘big stick’ legislation with every vote, with every piece of energy we could muster because it's a bad idea,” Mr Bowen told reporters.

The government says new laws are needed to ensure power retailers and generators do not deliberately jack up the price of electricity.

Electricity providers say the ‘big stick’ will not address why power bills are increasing.

“As the ACCC report acknowledged, the key to bringing down energy prices for Australian families and businesses is a stable policy framework that provides certainty for investors,” Australian Energy Council chief Sarah McNamara said.

A Senate economics committee is due to report on the legislation in March.