Throwing energy price rises out with the bathwater

The typical household's energy bill has reportedly doubled since 2004, but what consumers really want is an investigation to determine whether energy companies are colluding to make bumper profits.

In the grim times of the three-day working week in the UK in 1974, the Energy Minister of the time, Patrick Jenkin, advised UK citizens to turn their lights off early in the evening to conserve energy, and "clean their teeth in the dark".

The reception given to his advice was lukewarm, especially after Jenkin's own house was photographed lit up like a Christmas tree during this period when much of Britain was enduring frequent power cuts.

In 1976, when Britain was suffering a drought, another minister, Denis Howell, attracted derision when he suggested that sharing a bath with a loved one might be a good way of saving water.
 
British home owners may be disinclined to be lectured on energy usage by politicians, but when their wallet speaks, they are not so reluctant to cut back.

A recent survey on behalf of price comparison web site Confused.com indicated that 45% of households are holding back from turning on the light switches in an effort to save money, while 3% of those polled admitted to eating by candle light for purposes other than creating a romantic ambiance.

As for that derided advice about hopping in the tub with the one you love, the survey reckons 14% of people are sharing bath water with their family, though whether sequentially or simultaneously is unknown.

A less-cavalier attitude towards energy consumption is no bad thing, and putting on an extra layer of clothing before turning down the thermostat is not going to dramatically alter anyone’s lifestyle, but there is only so much these cost saving tips can achieve. The fact is, energy prices are rising at an unprecedented rate, with the typical household’s average bill doubling since 2004, according to conservationist pressure group, Friends of the Earth.

Friends of the Earth thinks “The Big Six [energy companies] are making billions by keeping the UK hooked on expensive imported fuels instead of setting us on a path to affordable, clean British energy,” and has called for an urgent public enquiry into the energy companies, all of whom pushed through big price increases this summer. The pressure group claims that 90% of the 1,003 adults polled on the issue backed its call for an investigation, though it does not necessarily follow that all of those in favour of an enquiry support Friends of the Earth’s “clean British energy” agenda, though if you are always the last of a family of seven to get to use the shared bathwater, a giant wind-turbine and a solar panel on the roof probably gets your vote.