Casualty, the BBC's prime-time hospital drama, is one of my least favourite TV shows. Watching a plot develop in the knowledge that it will end in some hideous tragedy sets me on edge. I find the sense of doom deeply unsettling.

It is with a similar sense of dread that I am viewing developments in the energy market. The relentless march of wholesale gas prices continues unabated, increasing nearly threefold in a year. This can mean only one thing: another round of huge rises in domestic energy bills is imminent.

Some industry experts are now predicting increases of as much as 40 per cent in the next six months, taking the average yearly bill to almost £1,500. If that happens, there will be an extra 1.6 million people in fuel poverty.

Sadly, little can be done to control soaring wholesale energy costs. And while the industry has undoubtedly failed consumers, bills would probably still have to rise even if there were a perfectly competitive market. That said, it is worth noting that all bar one of the big six suppliers own their own generating capacity, which means that the companies can still make handsome profits “upstream”, even if their retail businesses suffer.

The bleak outlook is also no excuse for government apathy. With VAT on energy at 5 per cent, the Treasury stands to pocket another windfall if domestic bills rise again. Ministers should pledge that any further increase in revenue from higher energy bills should be channelled into helping those in fuel poverty. It could start by reversing the recent cut in the budget of Warm Front, the agency that provides grants for loft insulation.

Ofgem must also get tough. As a first step, the regulator, described as a “toothless tiger” by MPs this week, should force npower to refund the millions of customers that appear to have been overcharged. After pressure from Times Money, Ofgem is now investigating. We await the outcome with interest. The impending energy crisis looks dangerous, but casualties can be minimised.

Money Central: 10 tips to beat the energy crunch

Fierce debate dparked by three pensions proposals

IF ever there was an exciting week in the world of pensions, we just had it.

First, there was a dust-up between representatives of the pensions industry and the Government over personal accounts, the scheme to enrol workers into pensions automatically from 2012. Then Norwich Union, one of the UK's biggest pension providers, announced that it is to introduce postcode-rated annuities, meaning that retirement income will vary depending on where you live and the associated life expectancy. Finally, the Liberal Democrats called for new rules to ensure that everyone shops around for an annuity.

So what to make of this burst of activity? Well, most of it centres on the Pensions Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament. This fiendishly complex legislation makes the Lisbon treaty look a fascinating read, but it is important nevertheless. And as loath as I am to side with the usually self-interested trade bodies, they do seem to have a point. In essence, their grievance with the legislation is that the rules appear to encourage employers to ditch their existing company schemes in favour of personal accounts. This would be bad for employees because most company schemes are more generous (and therefore expensive to run) than personal accounts.

The Liberal Democrats also deserve credit for trying to force the Government to address the woeful take-up of the open-market option on annuities. Only 40 per cent of people buy an annuity from a different company to that they have saved with. The result is that they could lose thousands of pounds over the life of their pensions.

As for postcode annunities, Norwich Union's move suggests that the rest of the industry will soon follow. This is bad news for people in the South of England, who tend to live longer, but it could be good for the Glaswegian property market.

Get some perspective before panicking about inflation

Batten down the hatches, lock up your daughters, a monster is lurking: inflation is at, er, 3.3 per cent.

This week's reaction to the news that the consumer prices index (CPI) had edged higher was little short of panic. The only conclusion I can draw is that we have been spoiled rotten by a decade of almost unprecedented price stability. Let us not forget that a little more than 30 years ago inflation was 25 per cent and 20 years ago it was 10 per cent.

Of course part of the problem is that no one seems to believe the figures, partly because the most obvious prices are those rising fastest. But the CPI, though not representative of everbody's experiences, does reflect an average shopping basket. The numbers are well researched and real. The economic situation is deteriorating and uncomfortable, but it is not Armageddon.

Inflation buster: the 10 items that have fallen in price most this year