Cold comfort

THE fact that British Gas almost doubled its first-half profits, on the back of the coldest winter for 30 years, offers no comfort to those householders – and particularly the more vulnerable members of society who had to turn up the heating or simply shiver in below-freezing temperatures.

They will, once again, wonder whether British Gas – and the other energy suppliers – could have done far more to mitigate the impact of years of sustained price increases that comfortably outstripped inflation.

What will anger them is how the energy industry continues to manipulate figures to suit its purposes; Centrica, the owner of British Gas, defended the 98 per cent rise in profits by saying that average bills were slightly lower last year, and the full impact of wholesale prices had not been passed on to consumers. Not many households are likely to concur. With Energy Secretary Chris Huhne raising the possibility of domestic bills increasing by a third to help the Government meet its climate change obligations, the time has, surely, come for the entire pricing structure of the industry to be made more transparent.