Npower's announcement of a large hike in both gas and electricity prices, described by Giuseppe Di Vita, managing director of its residential business, as a "fact of life", provoked much sparring among energy price watchers. Karl Brookes, spokesman for consumer champion Energywatch, which faces closure in October, was forthright: "You would expect suppliers to respond in a more innovative way than instantly responding to wholesale prices by hitting the consumer in the pocket" (Times, 7 Jan). Meanwhile, price comparison websites uSwitch and TheEnergyShop.com advised customers to switch suppliers straight away.

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, appeared to jump on the consumer bandwagon by writing to regulator Ofgem asking for a meeting to discuss the implications of the price rises: an "unprecedented step" according the Guardian leader column (8 Jan). In contrast The Times warned that "to have the Chancellor making a running commentary on energy prices is unhelpful" and "the era of paying £1,000 a year for energy (less than £3 a day) is probably here to stay" (7 Jan).

Consumer journalist Sean Poulter accused foreign energy giants of treating the UK like 'Treasure Island', "raiding the UK's gas supplies when they are cheap but levying punitive prices when demand is higher" (Mail on Sunday, 6 Jan).