Nobody actually getting the point being made, if everybody managed to reduce their energy usage overnight, the cost of that energy would double to enable both the companies and the government to retain ' income '

Do the government actually want individual householders to become self susstaining for energy?

This government certainly wouldn't.

It would make them rather unpopular with the people that they actually serve.

And therein lies he truth behind a great deal of government policy.

One thing to watch is road tax.

I can't remember where I read it but there was something a while back that there was concern in government that as engines became more efficient (e.g Mazda have a 150bhp diesel engine that puts out a mere 104 g/km Co2) road tax income is dropping quite drastically as people buy cars with much more efficient engines.

It will be interesting to see what they do about it as more cars are with in the 1st road tax band or even escape it altogether. There is at least one small car out there that isn't a hybrid or fully electric that is zero rated for road tax.

The breaking news this morning has me wondering if I am already committed to the asylum by my family as normally I'd file this under "No shoite Sherlock", but apparently its a genuine press release ...

[urlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25181676[/url

"NPower prices to remain stable until 2015 unless prices go up again"

Which must go down in history as the most obvious and pointless press release of all time until you read further and realise that only yesterday they put up their prices by 10.5% AND demanded AND seem to have convinced the government that they shouldn't be paying the green levy in future.

I'm starting to think they are taking the urine from us consumers, don't you ?

And as I pointed out above, Which? is clear that, in effect, the wholesaler is the companies themselves, so they set those prices themselves.