WE applaud British Gas for breaking ranks with its fellow energy suppliers to cut prices.

Taking ten per cent off the standard gas tariff means that the average annual British Gas dual-fuel bill will drop from £1,328 to £1,240.

Unfortunately, our applause is somewhat muted by the fact that this reduction in no way makes up for recent rises in the cost of gas supplies.

British Gas hiked gas prices by a staggering 46 per cent in 2008.

We also note that the reduction does not come into force until the middle of next month.

By that time, winter will be almost over. So the cuts will be both too little and too late to help consumers meet this winter’s fuel bills.

At least this move will turn up the heat on the other five gas suppliers, including nPower, the region’s biggest energy company, which are keeping their prices ludicrously high.

Of course, as consumers we can switch suppliers, but the current pricing structure makes this harder than it needs to be. Who really understands how their gas or electric bill is calculated?

If garages used the same pricing policy, the amount of cars on the road would probably drop overnight.

No wonder a recent study by Cambridge University found that a third of customers who swapped suppliers actually went on to a higher tariff.

What we need is a clear and simple tariff which makes swapping as easy as re-mortgaging.

Only then can customers be certain they are paying the lowest prices around.