Jayne Dowle: Why my temperature's rising over the ridiculous price of gas

The company, which supplies almost 16 million British households,

declines to reveal exactly how much it has made out of us, but let's just say that last year, its profits rose by 58 per cent, to a staggering 595m. So you can guess which way its bank balance is heading.

I don't know about you, but my central heating is still switched on. It was actually snowing in Barnsley this week, and I've got two children to keep warm and an old house that succumbs to damp as soon as the temperature drops. I made a policy decision back in December. We could shiver, or give in and leave the heating on for longer. It was bad enough being housebound without freezing half to death as well. You can see why British Gas reports that its customers used, on average, seven per cent more gas this winter than the previous year.

So I think I've reached a state of denial about our gas bill, the guilt of which surfaces in the middle of the night when I wake wondering what to worry about. We pay by direct debit, and every time a statement comes we're about 300 in the red. Usually, at this time of year, I can comfort myself with a few months' grace. But until the weather improves, the central heating is staying on, for a few hours a day at least. And even when it does eventually turn warmer, I won't fool myself that suddenly, in a few short months, my bill will drop. As soon as chilly autumn kicks in, that outstanding debt will creep up and up.

My main concern is that one day, I will discover a demand on my doormat for the full amount, and have to find 300 or more to pay it off, or face yet another increase in our monthly outgoings to cover it. This happened to a friend of mine. She works full-time, so was never at home for the electricity meter man. After a year or so of estimated bills, he managed to catch her in. Shortly afterwards, she received a demand for 500-worth of electricity she hadn't paid for. As a single mother with two teenage children, she didn't have that kind of spare cash lying around. With the threat of disconnection hanging over her, she had to rustle up the money from somewhere. She still hasn't got over the shock.

If it can happen to her, an intelligent, hard-working woman, it can happen to anyone. This is what makes me so cross. We are all totally powerless in the face of the power companies. Swap suppliers? Only if you want to spend hours and hours comparing tariffs, only to find that as soon as you switch, your new friend ups its prices.

Keeping on top of all that could drive you even more mad than worrying about your direct debit in the middle of the night. British Gas, with its inevitably slick PR machine, boasts that customers' bills actually fell slightly – by the grand average of 8 a household – earlier this year. The company cut the price of the gas it supplies in February, but tellingly, it did it after the worst of the sub-zero temperatures was over, and nowhere near in line with the reduction in the wholesale price of gas.

A spokesman also comes out with some guff about how much the company is committed to helping its customers insulate their homes to reduce their bills. Well, with its inadequate cavity walls, inaccessible roof space and plethora of windows, our Edwardian house has been declared virtually unfit for insulation. What are we supposed to do? Move? I

don't think so.

Don't assume we haven't looked into it. I can bore for England on exterior vs interior cladding and the cost/benefit ratio, but I won't make you suffer. Instead, I will just say that the energy companies should not be allowed to get away with it for one moment longer. They should be forced to pass on price reductions, in full, and as soon as possible. They should not be allowed to pounce on unwary customers – and remember, we are their customers – and demand outstanding payment.

And they should not be allowed to preside over big, fat profits for their shareholders while millions of households face not just a winter, but years, of living in fuel poverty.

I have no idea where this particular issue is on the list of priorities at Number Ten. And some would say it isn't a political matter. But with cuts in public spending and job cuts on the way to squeeze household budgets ever tighter, it is. I will wait with bated breath – and my finger on the thermostat – to see what the new government is prepared to do about it.