Energy is becoming expensive for everyone: gas and power bills are rising, farmers are complaining, even the cost of plastic for milk cartons (it's all made from petrochemicals) is bumping up the price on your doorstep.

To makes matters worse, competition between providers could weaken with the mooted merger between EDF, the French company that acquired London Electricity, and Iberdrola, which owns ScottishPower. Another big utility, Powergen, is expected soon to follow British Gas with a big increase for households so we can be excused a bit of Schadenfreude at the misfortune of E.ON, Powergen's parent.

The European Commission has fined E.ON €38million (£28.2million) for breaking a protective seal placed by antitrust investigators at the energy firm's offices. The Commission is ignoring E.ON's protest that it is all terribly unfair.

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