"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
...

Surely oil must now be cheaper? But what
about electricity? E.g. using
a thermostatically controlled fan heater.

Electricity is still around 3 to 4 time more expensive per kW than gas.

Gas seems now to be an
extortionate luxury,

Not yet.

Electricity is largely generated
from natural gas anyway, so is also rising.

No, From coal. The reason we are running out of gas is that Thatcher
allowed private companies to use cheaper gas to generate electricity when
privatising the industry, in order to encourage them and get rid of the coal
industry out of sheer spite. The 'Dash fro Gas', it was called. Coal mines
with many years of coal in them closed down. If coal was used to generate
electricity and gas reserved for domestic and some industry, then we would
not be in the situation we are now in.

We are now short of gas, and looking to Russia for unreliable supplies, and
looking at building more nuclear plants so we are not held to ransom by the
likes of Russia.

and with oil one does at least have the
competition between local
suppliers.

There are many suppliers of gas, so you do have a choice of supplier.

Christian.