The six leading energy suppliers in the UK – British Gas, E.On, Npower, Scottish Power, EDF and Southern & Scottish Energy – have been targeted by the Fuel Poverty Action Group amid growing concerns over domestic fuel bills.

The organisation staged several so-called ‘Winter Warm-Up’ protests outside offices belonging to the firms, which are accused of profiteering at a time when millions of Britons are being forced to choose between food and warmth.

The Winter Warm-Ups have arrived at a particularly opportune moment, as Britain braces itself for what the Met Office has promised to be the coldest week of the winter thus far. So what better way to encourage the big six energy firms to lower their tariffs than to stand out in the cold holding placards and banners over the weekend?

If the protesters wanted to be noticed they perhaps ought to have organised the demonstrations during weekdays, but no doubt their point has been made.

The organisation’s Elizabeth Ziga explained: “We want to challenge the big six energy companies, which control 99 per cent of the energy industry and make record profits off our rising bills”.

Ziga makes an excellent point, of course, but what can be done?

British Gas made a record profit of £742 million in 2010 but is expected to announce current end-of-year profits in the region of £566 million. Despite cutting electricity prices by 4.5 per cent from the end of March, British Gas seized the opportunity to increase the cost of gas by 18 per cent and the price of electricity by 16 per cent in 2011. Since the summer of last year, however, wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen by 31 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Wholesale savings are not, therefore, being passed on to consumers.

British Gas claims to have lost as many as 1,800 customers per day since raising tariffs last year, but where can customers go? Short of generating their own energy, customers can only switch from one supplier to the next – and all the suppliers have been accused of profiteering. Households can reduce their reliance on the suppliers to an extent by installing solar photovoltaic panels, double glazing, loft and cavity wall insulation and smart meters.

In a month known for its doom and gloom, energy customers might be feeling a little less of the January blues, with the announcement that several big energy firms are to cut their energy costs. 

On Wednesday, EDF Energy became the first of the “Big Six” energy providers to cut energy costs, by announcing a 5% drop in its average gas prices. While electricity prices will remain unchanged, from 7 February customers will see the reduction come into force. Just two months ago the company had increased their gas prices by 15.4 percent%

“We know customers are finding it difficult, particularly during winter. So I am pleased we have been able to make this announcement now and help our customers at a time they use more gas,” said Martin Lawrence, EDF Energy’s managing director of customer supply.

Increasing the pressure on their counterparts to make similar cuts, British Gas followed suit by announcing plans to implement their own reductions, cutting its standard electricity tariff by 5% with immediate effect. The move will see 5.3 million of its customers benefit from a saving of around £24 on their average annual electricity bills. The company, which has no plans to bring down its gas prices, said the reduction will make them the cheapest for electricity.

The announcement comes just six months after British Gas customers had to endure a massive 18% increase in gas bills, whilst electricity costs were hiked by an average 16%.

“We want to keep prices as low as possible for our customers. Household budgets are stretched, and we are doing everything we can to help our customers keep their bills down,” commented Ian Peters, Managing Director for Energy.

Energy suppliers came under fire last year for hiking their prices, given the falling cost of wholesale energy. Consequently, they have faced mounting pressure from consumer groups and the Government to pass on the reduction to customers by cutting their energy costs.

Hot on the heels of EDF and British Gas, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) will be cutting 5% off their gas prices from 26 March, resulting in an annual saving of around £28 annually for its 3.4 million customers. While Npower has also bowed to pressure and confirmed plans to cut gas prices by 5% from 1 February.

Disappointingly, none of the aforementioned energy providers have announced plans to implement duel fuel cuts. E.On and Scottish Power have yet to make similar price cuts, although with four out of the six major suppliers dropping their prices it’s only a matter of time.

For British Gas, EDF, Npower and SSE, the move is no doubt designed to try and improve their reputations, which are at an all-time low. But for most customers such minuscule reductions will have little impact on their central heating and household energy bills.

Quite simply, it’s a case of too little, too late.

British Gas has seen its customer base drop by a staggering 200,000 as a backlash of the recent increases in their energy prices, the firm has revealed.

Over the summer, energy providers – including all of the “Big Six” - raised household energy bills by an average of 16% for electricity and 18% for gas.

They blame higher wholesale energy costs for the need to increase their tariffs, particularly wholesale gas costs, which are 26% higher this winter than last according to Centrica,the firm’s parent company.

The news comes just days after British Gas announced plans to cut around 850 service jobs as a means of reducing costs. In a statement, the company said: “Household budgets are stretched, customers are looking for maximum value for money and if we are going to remain competitive and offer the best prices for our customers, we need to reduce our costs.”

More and more householders are becoming better clued up when it comes to implementing energy efficient home improvements – whether it be fitting double glazing, cavity wall insulation or making sure the loft is properly insulated.  Improving home insulation to reduce energy consumption will have a knock on effect on the sale of electricity and gas, as will spells of milder weather.

Centrica saw a 17% decrease in residential gas usage in the first ten months of 2011 compared to the previous year. However, the company still managed to make £272 million during the first six months.

The plight of a pensioner in Skipton has highlighted one of the many discrepancies of the privatised energy market.

Pamela Barton, a widow living on Brougham Street, Skipton, has this month received an energy bill of £2,843.41 – a final demand for payment that includes current usage and arrears.

The bill was issued by E.ON, which has been receiving £42 per month from Mrs Barton since 2007. Unfortunately, the regular payments made by Mrs Barton have not been enough to clear her account, which continues to grow as her energy usage exceeds £42 in value each month. Mrs Barton has now resorted to candlelight to save money on electricity and gas central heating.

Mrs Barton said: “My pension is only £120 a week – I just can’t afford to pay all this. I’m just getting deeper into debt. I’m keeping the lights and gas off as much as I can. I sit with something warm around me and use a candle.

“I’ve even thought about selling the house. I’ve cried about how it could have come to this”.

Mrs Barton’s plight is one that is shared by many thousands of other energy consumers in the UK. Fuel poverty is a growing problem in the country and efforts to ensure the most vulnerable households can afford adequate energy appear to be failing.

Highlighting an apparent disparity of the energy market in the UK, whilst Mrs Barton, a fuel-poor pensioner and widow, struggles to afford enough energy to light a room or heat a stove, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has announced a deal with British Gas that aims to provide help for low-income households.

Under the deal, British Gas will invest around £3.6 million to improve the energy efficiency of 785 private and council properties in Northwood. Energy efficiency measures include installing solar PV panels, loft insulation, draught proofing and new condensing boilers. The measures should ensure that households in the area are able to save hundreds of pounds on annual energy bills.

Unless similar help is afforded to households in Craven, Mrs Barton may be spending her Christmas by candlelight.

According to the results of a British Gas survey, half of those under 40 are clueless when it comes to servicing their homes for the winter.

The last two harsh winters seems to have highlighted a lack of knowledge when it comes to preparing our homes for severe weather conditions. The survey of 2,200 adults aged between 18 and 40 has revealed that 50% of people under the age of 40 are nowhere near clued up about the effects of winter.

More than half of the survey’s participants can’t bleed a radiator, while three quarters of those surveyed are in the dark when it comes to checking the water pressure on their central heating boiler. Perhaps not quite as surprising, a massive 90% admitted to not knowing how to thaw a condensate pipe.

The British Gas report highlights a generation who still regard snow and freezing weather as a bit of a novelty.  Between the late 1970s until the mid 2000s, climate data shows that during this time the UK experienced mild winters compared to those of recent years.

To help households cope with extreme harsh winter conditions, British Gas says householders need to get into the habit of servicing their homes on a regular basis, in a similar way they service their cars. The energy provider has put together a series of how-to guides, which appear on its YouTube channel, designed to talk people through common, easily solvable issues.

The channel includes a guide to bleeding radiators, as well as a step-by-step guide to thawing a condensate pipe. Check them out at www.youtube.com/britishgas

It’s saying something when a qualified accountant struggles to calculate the cost of a domestic energy bill, but that was exactly what happened during the latest Which? investigation.

Which? asked members of the public to calculate the cost of a domestic energy bill, taking the information from a range of energy providers’ websites, including British Gas, Southern Electric and Eon. But only one person was able to undertake the task successfully.

In fact, apart from a company director, every single one of the 36 people who took part in the investigation got the calculations wrong – and that included an accountant.

“People tell us they want to be able to check they’re paying the right price for their energy, and when even an accountant struggled to calculate a bill, it shows it’s far too complicated,” commented Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?

An Ofgem spokesman said they welcomed the research, adding that following their own investigation they were already proposing radical action to reduce the number of confusing and complex tariffs.

“There are currently around 400 tariffs available and we are proposing new rules which will pare down the number of standard tariffs suppliers can offer, making it much easier for customers to pick out cheaper energy deals,” said Ofgem.

The Which? test was overseen by a mathematics expert from Edexcel. Keith Pledger, chairman and head of the mathematics exam board said most A-level maths students would find the calculations difficult and that it was “unrealistic to expect the public to be able to find the best deal when faced with such complex tariffs.”

As the cost of electricity and gas central heating continues to rise, Which? has launched the Affordable Energy Campaign. The consumer rights campaigner is calling on the energy regulator Ofgem to stamp out excessively complex tariffs in favour of a simpler format across the board.

It’s one of the UK’s favourite dishes and soon your favourite chicken tikka masala could be helping to provide heat to homes across Britain.

A groundbreaking venture between British Gas, the UK’s leading energy provider, and the Bio Group will see the construction of a £5million plant that will be capable of processing food waste from takeaways and curry restaurants, as well as hotels and businesses.

It may sound like a lot of hot air but the plant in Stockport, Greater Manchester, will be able to process around 25,000 tonnes of food waste every year, helping to produce enough gas to supply more than 1,400 homes.

Once the leftover scraps have been heated after being slopped into large containers, natural bacteria will then break down the food, creating biomethane, which is also known as renewable gas. Very similar to the natural gas we use in our homes for cooking and central heating, once cleaned the biomethane will be fed into the national grid.

“This project shows how recycling waste that would otherwise go to landfill is not only good for the environment but can also play a vital role in meeting people’s everyday energy needs,” said managing director of new markets at British Gas, Gearóid Lane.

The Stockport plant will be the first purpose-built project in the country to benefit from the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

From next month, the UK’s largest energy provider, British Gas, will begin rolling out new touch screen smart meters to their customers’ homes.

The first of a new generation of smart meters, designed to help customers control their bills and save money, they will provide detailed information of a customer’s energy use. To help monitor the amount of electricity being used, a traffic light system has been implemented to warn households when they are using large amounts of electricity.

Set to be installed in 10 million homes, the technology will mean the end to estimated billing and meter readings, with customers only paying for the amount of energy they actually use.

In a bid to reduce carbon emissions and to help people become more energy efficient, the Government wants all UK homes to be equipped with smart meter technology by 2020. With nearly 400,000 fitted to date in homes and businesses, British Gas already has the largest roll-out of smart meters in the UK.

However the older models are lacking in the latest innovations, such as price display and wireless capability. These new features are what sets the next generation in smart meter technology aside; enabling British Gas customers to be the most empowered energy users in the UK.

“It can very quickly be used to deliver brilliant insight to the consumer to say ‘you don’t have enough insulation in your home’, or ‘your central heating system is costing you a fortune’,” said managing director of British Gas Smart Homes, Dean Keeling.

“It helps us deliver insight to the consumer which they can trust, and we know is accurate. Ultimately for us that helps us build a better business,” he added.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said that the new smart meters will enable households to see how much energy they are using, helping them to keep on top of rising energy costs. However, a pilot study has revealed that the technology ‘may have not much effect’ on consumption.

According to research conducted by the University of East Anglia, despite initial enthusiasm to cut energy use, it quickly subsided, with many feeling despondent and frustrated because the changes they could make were insignificant. The 12 month study involving thousands of UK families using the technology found that some homes gave up using the smart meters altogether. And in the most extreme cases, other households would argue over the amount of energy being used.

British Gas has announced plans to suspend its door-to-door selling, claiming the traditional cold-calling method is becoming outdated.

With consumer groups and MPs alleging the sales technique puts unnecessary pressure on consumers to change their energy tariffs – often to deals that leave them even worse off – the energy provider will stop knocking on doors for three months, during which time it will investigate other means of selling its products.

In 2006 British Gas employed 1,300 doorstep sales staff, but that number has dwindled to less than a quarter, largely thanks to changing attitudes and consumers turning to the Internet to find increasingly better deals. The move to suspend the activity follows in the footsteps of Scottish and Southern Energy, who have already stopped selling their energy products door-to-door. The decision by SSE came after the energy provider was found guilty last month on two counts of mis-selling, after Surrey County Council took them to court.

Consumer Focus have applauded British Gas’s decision, after championing a 90-day reprieve on cold calling, saying it is “the sort of move that responsible companies make when it becomes clear that consumers are unhappy with the way they do business”.

Suspending door-to-door selling will be seen as an important step forward when it comes to rebuilding trust in an unpopular industry, but unlike British Gas, Scottish Power and EDF have so far refused to end the practice, while npower and E.ON remain undecided.

“Doorstep selling, in its current form, is no longer a sustainable way to engage or build a relationship with customers,” said Ian Peters, managing director of energy at British Gas.

“We want the energy advice we give our customers to be trusted and delivered at a time and place that is convenient to them,” he added.

British Gas has said it has no plans to make any of its door-to-door sales staff redundant.

Just weeks after hiking its energy prices, British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, has reported half-year profits of £1.3bn – which includes £270m for British Gas alone.

The announcement is certain to cause even more public outrage, as energy customers continue to feel the squeeze over ever increasing gas and electricity prices. The energy provider is set to raise its gas and electricity prices by 18 and 16% respectively from 18 August. The increase will hit around 9 million customers, with the average dual fuel bill rising £190 a year to £1,219 annually.

The FTSE 100-listed company has been quick to point out that the £270m British Gas made in the first half of the year is 54% lower than the profits it made in the previous year. According to the company, the division – which is Centrica’s residential arm – would have been heading for a loss in the second half of the year, if they had not taken the decision to raise its energy prices. Centrica blames price rises on a 30% increase in wholesale gas prices and lower consumption.

British Gas apparently saw an 18% year-on-year decline in gas usage in the period, in addition to a 3% drop in electricity consumption.

According to Centrica, British Gas made its profits in the first quarter of the year, and since April energy has been sold at a loss.