We’ve just emerged from the coldest January in a decade.
It was a tough month, with most of us forced to stay at home due to lockdown.
The least we could do while stuck indoors and unable to see friends was keep ourselves warm.
But fuel poverty remains a very real issue in 2021 with too many Scots viewing heating bills as an unaffordable luxury.
So it was a real kick in the teeth for ordinary consumers when the industry regulator, Ofgem, announced yesterday that providers could hike their bills.
It means customers on ordinary tariffs could see their payments jump right at a time many are already worried about finances.
Ofgem reviews the cap twice a year, in April and October.
It said latest increases were justified by higher wholesale gas and electricity costs.
Allowing suppliers to up their standard tariffs limit by around £96 from April 1 will take the average bill to £1138 a year – more than wiping out a decrease in the cap last October.
The hike includes an amount for suppliers to recoup losses for customers unable to pay bills during their coronavirus crisis.
It’s a slap in the face for customers across the UK.
Ordinary people are still paying the price for the Tories’ decision to privatise gas and electricity firms in the mid-1980s.
In the time since, we’ve seen astronomical price rises which far outpace the meagre improvements in supply.
The public needs someone to stand up for it against the big utilities firms.
Ofgem has proved once again whose side it is on.
Don’t mess it up
Scotland’s battle to get out of the Covid-19 pandemic is picking up pace.
Despite the grim setbacks along the way, the signs are getting more positive.
The number of vaccines getting into arms is growing at an increased rate.
Infections seem to be going the right way again and key measures of progress are starting to look within reach.
There will be bumps along the way but there can be no excuses for self-inflicted wounds.
No one could be expected to excuse outrageous decisions such as dumping doses at vaccination centres at the end of a shift.
The procedure was quickly addressed but each binned dose means someone has been left with no protection.
The vaccine is our vital ticket out of this mess.
We cannot afford to waste a drop.
