NOBODY will be surprised by the news that Ofgem believes customers are being fleeced by the major energy suppliers; they would be more likely to be shocked if something actually happened about it ("Probe call as energy company profits grow despite price cuts", The Herald, January 30).

 

The urban environment places constraints on the individual and we are forced to buy energy rather than producing or gathering it ourselves and it is only right that we should pay the wages of those who provide this service. However, there is no reason why a third party should profit from this exercise. Nobody can object to having to pay directly or indirectly for life's fundamental necessities but there is every reason to take exception to being treated as milch cow by a corporate system which treats basic utilities as an income stream rather than a fundamental human right. This is a system which if it could bill you for breathing air would happily do so.

If the Scottish Government feels it important to keep the water supply in public hands and charge citizens for what they use there is no logical or moral argument against a similar stance being taken to the provision of heat and light.

David J Crawford,

Flat 3/3 131 Shuna Street,

Glasgow.

YOUR leader column ("Energy regulator must take meaningful action on bills", The Herald, January 30), omitted the steps that energy regulator Ofgem has taken to help customers.

Energy is an essential service on which all customers depend. We know the energy market is not working well enough, so we have taken the biggest step that any regulator can, by referring it to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). We specifically asked the CMA to examine the relationship between wholesale and retail prices.

We have also introduced the most significant changes to the retail market since privatisation to make it simpler, clearer and fairer. Suppliers can now only offer up to four tariffs per fuel, so the market is far less confusing.

Customers do not have to accept the price cuts announced by suppliers as their best option. They could save much more by shopping around for better deals - up to £250 by moving to the cheapest fixed offers. So it is right that we encourage them to do this.

Dermot Nolan,

Ofgem Chief Executive,

9 Millbank, London.