�鶹��

Available for over a year

Good Morning, I called my power provider to talk to them about the rising cost of my energy. A robot with a reassuring, friendly voice asks me what I want. What I want is to speak to someone – preferably someone real - about the rising costs of my energy. The robot gives me options. For this press 1. For that press 2. ‘For anything else’ Press 5. It takes a while to get through. They are experiencing higher than normal call volumes. They tell me it may take 30 minutes to speak to an agent. I wonder if this is because all their customers, like me, are ringing at the same time to complain about the price hike. As I wait, I have time to read about the rising cost of living. In October it surged by 4.2% - the highest rate in almost 10 years and most of it caused by rising energy costs. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation 1.4 million households are in arrears on their energy bills. Upbeat piped music plays. My power provider knows I’m waiting and thanks me for my patience. They add that they have joined with another power provider. And together they have become more powerful. This is reassuring, because in the last few weeks 26 suppliers have collapsed into administration, leaving many without power. I spare a thought for the people living in fuel poverty. For those whose power has been turned off because they can’t afford to pay their bills. The upbeat piped muzak is now oddly dispiriting. In fact this whole process is making me feel power-less. I am too dependent on this power. I could not really survive without it. I don’t even know where the power comes from. Norway? Kazakhstan? Russia? A country that might suddenly turn off the supply just because they can. My energy supplier gives the impression of immense power, but what if they are not as powerful as they say but like the Wizard of Oz, a small man operating a giant machine but with no power at all. What if they collapse into administration and leave us all in the cold and dark this Christmas? If only there was another source of power I could tap into. One that didn’t keep me waiting, one who wouldn’t bill me for using their supply. A power provider who would give me the light and warmth I need without cost. Someone whose power never dies and on which I can rely. A power that knows who I am. One that I can talk to and who will answer me swiftly, with a message that I actually believe. I am about to give up when the voice of someone real suddenly says: “Hello, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. How can I help you?”