Could you be hit with higher energy bills?

Try ground source heat pump or even air sourced heatpump. KJG

The energy companies are walking all over the regulator who seems to be either totally ineffectual or in their pay. Perhaps this is another Quango that should get the chop. Given their record since privatisation the government should consider re-nationalisation of the utilities, without compensation.

Some time ago I switched Electricity supplier to Ecotricity, primarily because Ecotricity invest 100% of their profit into building renewable sources of supply (e.g. wind farms). A little to my surprise they turned out to be cheaper than many of their competitors, but most significantly they have just two rates (three if you have Economy 7) and it’s very easy indeed to see what they are. By default they put you onto the cheaper rate too. Earlier this year they started to supply Gas so for the same ethical reasons I switched to them for Gas and I am pleased to say that there is just one rate, a Dual-Fuel discount and again a surprising but welcome benefit over some of the big companies. They are not the cheapest there is, but I’m willing to bet they offer the clearest and easiest to understand tariffs.
Aside from that I completely agree with ray stone (above) that the regulator is either utterly useless or in the pay of the companies and should be closed down. I also agree that re-nationalisation would be welcome, though I am doubtful as to how much that would benefit us, the consumers.
One other area of interest for me, but not directly what this thread is about, is the excess fuel consumption of many so-called energy saving appliances. Which? legal team helped me to prove that one appliance (washer) which was Energy Saving Trust recommended actually used about 4 times as much energy as a 23 year old washer it replaced. My plumber and several Radio 4 "Money Box" programmes have pointed out that despite claims to the contrary many new boilers gobble gas in a similar way and via Radio 4’s "You and Yours" modern TV’s were also exposed to use over twice as much electricity as 10 to 30 year old models. Perhaps the manufacturers are also i"helping" the energy companies in some way?

Some interesting reaction to British Gas’ profit announcement today, nicely summed up here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jul/28/switching-tariff-reduce-energy-bills

Here’s what Which? chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, had to say:
‘This news will only fuel the belief that the likes of British Gas are ripping us off. On the one hand you have energy suppliers blaming high prices on the wholesale market and on the other you have British Gas announcing a massive increase in profits. For a consumer faced with a huge energy bill the two things just don’t seem to add up. Energy suppliers need to get a lot better at explaining how costs are passed on to customers to convince them that prices are fair.’