No winter in Britain would be complete without the big energy companies, most of them in continental ownership, shoving up prices for industrial and household users.
...Just to add to the burden on British consumers, for the first time this quarter they will be able to see the impact of British and European climate change taxes on their bills.
This has added £64 to the bills at NPower, which was the first to increase its prices by 17.2% for electricity and 12.7% for gas.
Out of the green tax of £64, some £30 is the result of an EU fudge over carbon trading units and will add an astonishing £9bn a year of income to the big energy companies.
That's a lot of loot!
(did I use the right word? I thought of booty but that has so many connotations, including Destiny's Child. Plunder led to the Vikings, then Canute, which rhymes with loot, which is what rent-seeking is all about, no?)
