Pensioners are suffering as power firms make huge profits

SO the blame for high fuel prices falls on the shoulders of the electorate, not the utility companies which are now making huge profits.

When are users supposed to find the time to swap utility company, when they are often holding down two jobs and trying to get their kids into the best school or university and have a quality family life?

Most home owners already have cavity wall insulation, double glazing and eight inches of loft insulation.

In fact the properties that don’t have this minimum of insulation are often owned by people on lower incomes and cannot afford to buy this insulation as an after-market product.

The remainder of these properties are rented, including student accommodation and there is no incentive for the owners to do anything and the residents are not in a position to do anything except suffer.

And then comes the final insult, to wear warm clothing in your home and to turn the heating down.

Many people are already doing this and still struggling to feed their family. But pensioners are stuck at home, so the heating has to be on all day and their medication often means they feel the cold more than a fit and healthy person.

Yet again the 99 per cent have to suffer because the one per cent like power, kudos and a bulging wallet.

From: Arthur B Fell, Queen Street, York.

MR Cooke (Yorkshire Post, October 10) asks us to excuse his “rant” about the Chelker Reservoir turbines. His “rant” is entirely justified.

Beautiful countryside is being vandalised throughout the United Kingdom by turbine developments, and it is time this nonsense was stopped.

I recently drove down the A74 from Glasgow and was horrified to see a vast area of the Border hills (one of the most beautiful places in the UK, in the vicinity of Beattock Summit) being destroyed by turbine development.

And apart from the environmental impact there is, much of the time, there is insufficient wind to work the turbines, so existing power stations must be kept working.

Turbine developments are attractive to landowners because they get handsomely paid for the sites.

They are also attractive to the developers and turbine manufacturers because they make profits.

But none of this would happen without the taxpayer footing the bill for the massive subsidies without which the developments would not be viable.

The turbine proposals at Chelker should be thrown out without further ado and the people need to speak up.