According to EnergyHelpline, households with average energy use can no longer get any deals for under £1,000 following the decision by Scottish Power to withdraw its £990 internet tariff. The move is in line with decisions made by other energy providers in recent weeks.

Tariffs across the industry have risen sharply with hikes of up to 18%. In September, EDF Energy became the last of the "big six" energy companies to announce increases in prices for domestic customers.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne recently pledged to "get tough" with the six biggest energy companies on their tariffs.

He said: "The rise in world gas prices of about a third over the last year is gradually being reflected through into bills, but I'm absolutely determined that we won't take this lying down and that we need as competitive a market as we can and that's why now that the big six have announced their price increases this is the time for consumers to shop around and get the best deal. We know from Ofgem's figures that consumers can save £200 a year by getting on to the cheapest deals, they can save another £100 a year on insulation which is being made available from the big six, so it's time to take control of these bills in the short term."

Chris Huhne stressed it is absolutely key for consumers to take control. "We want consumers to shop around, use the market, get on to the cheapest deals and there are big savings from that if people do that right now when all of the big six have announced their price rises so we know what the situation is going to be for the coming months and probably over the winter. Secondly, we are moving ahead; in the longer run next year we're announcing the biggest scheme to insulate our homes, Green Deal, which is going to be able to cut energy bills and insure against big future increases in gas in particular. That's going to be be key and in the long run, the more we can get out from under our reliance on imported gas with world market prices having gone up by a third and onto clean, green, secure energy, that's the way to provide the British consumer with a real guarantee of affordable electricity in the long run. Those are the three simple steps: shop around, insulate now, but we've got Green Deal next year which is going to be a big step forward, and of course making sure that we're making that tranisition away from excessive reliance on volatile world markets which we know from Libya and events in the Middle East, onto more homegrown secure electricity which is also more environmentally friendly."

Chris Huhne has said he is determined there should be a competitive market. He commented "there shouldn't be any gold plating, no extra profit margin in there for the big six, we're encouraging small suppliers to come into the market to make it more competitive, I want to see more foreign competition in the market because, ultimately, the best assurance for the consumer is getting lots of people bidding for your business and you can save serious amounts of money by shopping around. Throughout the time that I've been the Energy Secretary, I've been determined to stress to Ofgem which has a lot of powers to regulate the market that we need to the most competitive market. We've been tough in clamping down on some of the bad practices of the big six, we want to make the wholesale market much more open and transparent so consumers can see that they're getting the best possible deal."