By and large I’m a creature of habit. Historically, my household gas was supplied by British Gas and back in the day, my electricity was from MANWEB (yes, I’m that old), which subsequently became Scottish Power.

And I stuck with those companies for many, many years. I was comfortable with them, I trusted them, despite the fact that I was never really impressed with their customer service.

And then I joined the ranks of those who switch and fix. Loyalty is for mugs, I concluded and I’m currently with my third different power company in as many years.

I also listened to the experts who said to avoid the ‘price cap’ standard variable rate tariff like the plague.

Fortunately, my last switch was to one of the so-called big six providers so I’m pretty hopeful I won’t be one of those people whose power company has gone bust over the past few weeks.

And when I switched, I also fixed. Now I’m not in the slightest bit smug about this at all. My fixed rate means I won’t be hit by the hike in gas and electricity prices over winter, for which I am really, really thankful, but I’m also well aware that come next April when my current deal comes to an end, my personal finances are likely to face an almighty shock.

No one is safe from the effects of the staggering energy price rises. They may be delayed a little for some people like me but they are there all the same.

It’s somewhat ironic that after years and years of being told to avoid standard variable rates, all the experts are now saying they are currently the best deals on the market and it really looks as though a lot of people are in for a rough old winter.

But if reports are to be believed, things could get even worse for those who rely on gas with even more price rises to come thanks to a Government plan to introduce new charges.

According to a report in The Times, as reported by the Press Association, a new strategy will be published before the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow next month, which commits the Government to cutting the price of electricity and imposing a levy on gas bills to fund low-carbon heating.

Last week, the prime minister said Britain was aiming to produce ‘clean power’ by 2035 as part of the country’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions, while Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted that by decarbonising the UK’s power supply, the Government would ensure that households are less vulnerable to swings in fossil fuel markets.

Both of these are completely laudable sentiments and the Government is likely to hold a series of consultations before going ahead with the plan, which is likely to start in 2023.

And here’s the costly sting in the tail. The levy could add £170 a year to household gas bills.

Happy days. That’s just what we need with a cost of living crisis, inflation heading the wrong way and National Insurance increases taking even more money out of our pay packets.

But don’t worry, the Government has a cunning plan – boosting the sale of ground source heat pumps.

There’s just one little snag, as the Press Association reports, the cost of installing a ground source heat pump is £8,750 on average before VAT – the equivalent to almost a third of the average household’s entire annual income.

Don’t get me wrong, my understanding is that ground source heat pumps are remarkably environmentally friendly and can even be net zero carbon to run if a household’s electricity supply is from renewable sources, but for goodness sake, how many people are going to be able to afford something like that?

I can’t see anyone who’s just had their Universal Credit cut by £20 rushing out to place their order any time soon.

For the sake of balance, a spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We’ll set out our upcoming heat and buildings strategy shortly. No decisions have been made.”

On a different topic, despite the Government’s best efforts to persuade us that the Covid-19 pandemic has gone away, the figures would seem to say otherwise.

I was absolutely staggered to read that at the start of the month, the infection rate in the 10-14 age group in Cheshire East was 2,399 per 100,000, nearly five times the adult rate of 515 per 100,000.

With no mitigations in place, and the slow roll-out of vaccinations for the 12 and overs, it really looks like the Government is conducting a herd immunity experiment on our kids and I find that an appalling state of affairs.