Energy companies 'banned from complex, dodgy deals'

New rules designed to simplify energy bills have come into effect. The changes, drawn up by the industry regulator Ofgem, have been brought in to try to create a more transparent energy market.

Mike O'Connor, chief executive of the customer watchdog Consumer Futures, said that this "is a good thing to do but it's not really fundamentally going to lead to cheaper energy bills".

He said the new rules would make the market simpler to navigate, and "complex, dodgy deals" would not be allowed.

But he admitted "we're not going to see cheap energy again in my lifetime".