E.ON has followed British Gas, Scottish Power, and Scottish and Southern Energy in announcing massive price increases in gas and electricity - at a time when wholesale costs are actually decreasing.

Five million customers will be hit by an 18.1% increase in gas prices and an 11.4% increase in electricity prices from September, pushing an average annual dual-fuel bill up £170 to £1,293.

This will send more than 140,000 people into fuel poverty - where more than 10% of your income has to be spent on energy bills. And all this comes just six months after their last price increase.

The most common justification for such price hikes is the rising costs in wholesale prices, and yet we have just seen gas and electricity wholesale prices fall to their lowest this year.

Its inevitable that npower and EDF will follow. Although wouldn’t it be lovely if they surprised us?

I’ve urged you before, and it’s never too late - shop around, look outside the "Big Six", and find a fixed tariff while you still can.

And do everything in your power to keep those energy bills down - BigGreenSmile offers a range of energy saving products. And also take some time to consider alternative ways of generating and receiving energy, such as through solar PV.

There are many companies out there offering subsidised installation, and, with help from the forthcoming government Green Deal and feed-in tariffs, you’ll soon be making money from, rather than spending money on, energy. And then you can buy your own sweets.

[Image: Baltic Development Forum]