With the advent of North Sea gas we were told there was plenty of it and it was so cheap it would be virtually free, with the advantage of being much cleaner than the coal gas that had served us well for nearly a century.

The story is now very different with prices rising inexorably because our source is so depleted we now have to rely on supplies from various parts of the world with probable political corruption and unstable economies.

The truth is that any of our suppliers can force up the prices at will, but worse still could even hold us to ransom by turning off the tap.

With coal gas we had ample supplies of the basic raw material so could not be hijacked by overseas suppliers.

Coal gas is virtually free due to the enormous sales of the by products of its manufacture. Being made in the UK, price control is within our regulations. Are we going to wait for some country to “Pull the plug” on us before we seek an answer?

Wind farms, solar panels and hydroelectric are a small help but never will be the complete answer to our energy problem.

K E G Peters, Steeple Close, Poole