British Gas is at present in the middle of a scandal because of the number of incorrect bills it sends out. In the six months to March there were 21,427 complaints - mainly about overcharging. So with a 30% share of the energy market, British Gas now has a 70% of the share of complaints!

Of course this is not such a joke. Not when the average annual energy bill in Britain is as much as £1,000 a year. In February, to much fanfare, British Gas announced a cut in its prices by 11%. That may have been more than the other energy companies which have cut their prices by between 3% and 5%. But between 2003 and 2007, all energy bills went up by 94% for gas and 60% for electricity.

Unsurprisingly, the number of households in "fuel poverty" - meaning they cannot afford to pay their fuel bills, grew from 1m to 3m in 2007. But the government's scheme to eradicate fuel poverty via "morally responsible social tariffs" - which would force companies to grant rebates - is only meant to take effect by 2016...

So in the meantime, the vulnerable will carry on getting hypothermia because they cannot afford to switch on their heating and the poor will have their electricity and gas cut off. Or maybe the government, which lets the corporate culprits of carbon emissions off the hook, expects global warming to heat us all up?