Energy prices – one year ago today

A windfall tax on company profits would cause long-term damage to UK energy supplies, BP and Shell have said. The idea of a windfall tax was raised during the first hearing of an enquiry into energy prices on Tuesday. Prices have risen over the last year and consumer group Energywatch estimates an extra 800,000 consumers are facing hardship as a result.

Any time a price goes up, people start accusing producers of "gouging" and muttering about taxing "excess profits". Somehow, no one ever thinks of producers as "charitable" or "humanitarian" when prices go down, nor does anyone think of offering a subsidy to reward them for their generosity.