View from the streets: live launch of our new Final Demand campaign

By Melanie Kramers, Communications & Media team, Friends of the Earth

Taken from Friends of the Earth's Green Blog

"Free sweets - thanks for the sweet profits. Who says energy companies don't care?"

My week just got off to an unusual start, dishing out Love Hearts to bemused commuters outside London's Liverpool Street station in front of TV news crews.

There was a serious message to swallow along with the sweet stuff.

While households are facing rocketing energy bills and a cold winter, the Big Six energy firms are enjoying bumper profits and a stitched-up market.

They control 99% of the nation's power and get rich by keeping us hooked on expensive fossil fuels.

They really do have a lot to be grateful for - billions of pounds, in fact. So we hit the streets to say thanks on their behalf.

I was representing E-not-ON (geddit?) in a bright red fleece and baseball cap, while colleagues spoofed noPower, Brutish Gas and my personal favourite, EDF-Off. Check out the photos on Flickr.

Most people got the joke.

Although maybe not the guy who asked me for EDF's phone number because he'd missed a visit from the gas man on Saturday.

But the feeling that the big energy firms are taking us for a ride seemed to be widespread. Today's [17 Oct] newspapers are full of stories showing the current system isn't working for consumers.

Our new Final Demand campaign is calling for a full public inquiry into the Big Six's influence. And we want more investment in clean energy and cutting energy waste - the only way to stabilise our bills in the long run.

It's time for our leaders to stand up to big business and give us energy we can all afford.

You can sign the petition here.

Melanie Kramers, Communications & Media team