London Evening Standard: Gas prices fight goes to MPs: “A 20% LEAP in household energy prices is down to shady dealings in the gas market, a committee of MPs will be told today.”: “An official inquiry into 'strange behaviour' at some North Sea fields involving Centrica, BP and Shell, and whether gasflows to the UK were held back to engineer higher prices, continues.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 26 Jan 05

Robert Lea,

25 January 2005

A 20% LEAP in household energy prices is down to shady dealings in the gas market, a committee of MPs will be told today.

After months of speculation on apparently unwarranted rises in wholesale gas prices, and two major probes, statutory customer watchdog energywatch has demanded the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee press for a European Commission inquiry and regulatory shake-up.

Speaking ahead of his appearance before the committee, energywatch chief executive Alan Asher said: 'We have been saying for some time that something is going seriously awry. There were few compelling reasons why prices should have gone up as much as they did.'

MPs will be told household gas prices have shot up 20% and electricity costs 14% over the past year - London power supplier EDF Energy has raised prices three times in 10 months. That is reckoned to have put £100 on residential bills and consumers are expected to pay £5.2bn to heat their homes this winter.

Committee chairman Martin O'Neil has indicated he intends to hold North Sea gas producers to account over gas prices. He will also ask 'rude questions' of Ofgem after the energy regulator began an investigation into an alleged North Sea cartel but produced a report many believed was a whitewash.

An official inquiry into 'strange behaviour' at some North Sea fields involving Centrica, BP and Shell, and whether gasflows to the UK were held back to engineer higher prices, continues.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/business/articles/timid397402