No Freeze on Winter Energy Prices, Despite Natural Gas Boom
Winter energy prices in Europe and the United States are rising. Natural gas, the favored heating fuel, is abundant but hard to move.
"Is it true that the water fountains at British Gas HQ are filled by collecting the icy tears of freezing children?" tweeted freelance animator Adam Proctor (@fortsunlight). "Do the @BritishGas board prefer to bathe in £20 or £50 notes?" tweeted the creative ad agency, Don't Panic London. "British Gas: Freeze pensioners, not prices," said one of the few mock ads that did not contain profanity. (See related quiz: "What You Don't Know About Home Heating.")
Things only got worse when U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Davey chimed in that he kept his heating bills down by wearing a jumper (British slang for a pullover sweater.)
This unleashed a "#jumpergate" torrent, even though Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman tried to disassociate himself
