Petrol // Current

Osmosis

An issue based visual montage.

JeffBall
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Car explodes from cigarette lighter

Peter Tidbury could smell gas in his Peugeot 607, but assumed it was remnants of the service station he had just filled up at. He... more

nazbags
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Increase in Aborigine petrol-sniffing

The Australian government now manages many Northern Territory Aborigine settlements; a controversial move which had the purpose of... more

ClareW
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Retailers push petrol to below £1

Something good has finally happened at the petrol pumps this year. Supermarket chains, including Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys... more

sarahlou79
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Brown Urged To Cut Duty As Oil Prices Fall

Petrol retailers are calling for a freeze on fuel duty to help push down prices at the pump for motorists. It costs an average... more

TravG73
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HumanCar Powered by Human Energy, Not Ethanol

Charley and Chuck Greenwood, a father-son combo, think they know the secret to the future of cars: rowing. And they founded... more

alexandrek
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Oil Prices Tumble Below $100 a Barrel As Gas Prices Rise

As the government contemplates how slow the collapse of Wall Street, the Great American Screw increases at the pump. Good luck... more

1percent
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Chaos caused by free petrol

Computer games publisher Electronic Arts took over a petrol station in Finsbury Park, north London, intending to give away... more

MiguelSanchez
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Bus ridership explodes in the Hinterlands

More and more people are bussing it, and in places you wouldn't expect.

joshuaheller
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Oil-rich Norway has most expensive petrol prices

"In Norway, many motorists are up in arms over why they have to pay the highest petrol (gasoline) prices in Europe when the... more

J_Jammer
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Consumer organisations attacked energy companies today for not doing enough to protect poorer people from the worst effects of spiralling gas prices .

The comments came after a report warned that gas prices could soar by up to 70% in the next two years and stay high. Annual gas bills could rise from around £600 a household to more than £1,000, according to the independent report commissioned by Centrica, which owns British Gas.

It said gas prices in the UK would be more strongly influenced by the soaring cost of oil, which has jumped above $140 a barrel this year - twice as high as a year ago. This is because declining output from the North Sea makes Britain more reliant on imports.

"The energy companies could do more to shield vulnerable people from the worst effects of rising energy prices," said Cassie Higgs, energy expert at the National Consumer Council. "An effective response would be for the companies to offer low-cost 'social' tariffs to vulnerable households, such as low-income families and elderly people. Some energy companies are doing well in this area, but others are offering schemes that are inadequate - often rationed and applied inconsistently."

Jake Ulrich, managing director of Centrica Energy, admitted that gas price rises were likely to lead to a "potentially significant" rise in the number of people in fuel poverty. He predicted that people would have to change their habits to deal with higher prices. "I do think we will see people change their behaviour," he said. "I think people will use less energy and I hate to go back to the Jimmy Carter days in the US but maybe it's two jumpers instead of one."

Energywatch, the gas and electricity watchdog, called on the government to act to reduce the pressure on wholesale gas prices and force the industry to deliver affordable energy for the less well-off.

"The government is right to say that the link to oil is a cause of the problems but wrong to say there is nothing that can be done," said chief executive Allan Asher. "The local impact is so catastrophic it should be leading the international drive to end the hugely damaging and entirely unjustifiable link between the prices of gas and oil.

Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said higher energy bills were hitting pensioners particularly hard. "Price rises on this scale would mean well over three million pensioner households - more than one in three - would be in fuel poverty," he said. "It is totally unacceptable that because of price hikes many older people may feel forced to cut back on their heating, which could put their health at risk."
Consumer organisations attacked energy companies today for not doing enough to protect poorer people from the worst effects of... more