Research conducted by Warwick University conlcudes that the market in domestic electricity is still not fully competitive, a full 8 years after it was opened up in 1999.

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Major gas exporting countries including Russia, Iran and Algeria are to set up a ‘high level committee’ to discuss issues surrounding supplies and pricing. The countries, who together account for around 70% of world reserves, say that they have no plans to set up a price fixing cartel similar to Opec.

Read more at BBC News - Gas producers dismiss cartel talk

Energy regulator Ofgem has warned supply companies that they would ‘go after’ any who failed to pass on lower wholesale gas prices to their customers.

Wholesale prices have recently dropped around 20% from their high point, and as new supplies come onstream the regulator says it is optimistic that further cuts will be in the offing.

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A coalition of charities and consumer groups have said that the poor are disproportionately affected by spiralling energy costs, with a higher percentage of low-income households using pre-payment meters which can cost up to £173 a year more than the same amount of energy paid for by direct debit.

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The owners of British Gas have warned of possible winter fuel shortages, saying that supplies are set to be ‘uncertain’.

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Scottish Power have confirmed a new set of price rises next month, in a move that Energywatch Scotland have described as a ‘brutal assult’ on its customers.

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New government figures have shown that the number of UK households living in fuel poverty has risen by 83% over the last year.

Fuel poverty is defined as spending 10% or more of income on heating, and the recent price hikes imposed by energy companies has had a dramatic effect on the numbers affected by it.

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A report by the Commons Environmental Audit Committee has warned that Britons will have to pay even more for their electricity in the future, and also find ways of using less than they do now.
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The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) have called for a revolutionary new approach to energy provision to help people with low incomes out of ‘fuel poverty’, or the situation many find themselves in of having to ration their use of heating and light.
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Scottish and Southern Energy (S&SE) have announced another set of price rises effective from 1st May 2006, the second time this year that it’s raised its tariffs.
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