Power to the poor

One does not need to be a long range weather forecaster to predict that many Scots are in for a long hard winter. When leaders of Britain's six big energy suppliers appeared before the Business and Enterprise parliamentary select committee yesterday, they warned that further big increases in gas and electricity prices are both imminent and inevitable. One even acknowledged that rises could reach 40%, costing the average household an extra £400. That is on top of the 15% imposed earlier this year.