Image source, Getty Images

Audrey Gallacher, of the trade body Energy UK, responded to the criticism that many people are too busy to regularly check whether they were getting the best energy deal.

"You're right that it can be difficult - people don't have the time to do these things - but unfortunately, that's the nature of a competitive market," she tells Today. "I think this industry is doing as much as it can to try and reassure consumers that they can switch. There's information about the cheapest deals available currently on every bill." 

Ms Gallacher also mentions the ‘Energy Switch Guarantee’ in her interview, but many suppliers have not yet signed up to it because they are not able to meet the switching promise yet.

Read more about the switch guarantee here.

Are you one of the millions of consumers on an energy supplier's standard tariff because you have not switched? Or perhaps you stuck with a pre-payment meter, which can be very expensive to remove. Give us your thoughts at bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk 

BBC Breakfast

Business presenter Ben Thompson tweets:

According to a 5 live investigation last year, more than half a million pre-payment energy meters have been forcibly installed in people's homes over the last six years.

Sian Berry, a London Assembly Green Party member, tweets: 

BBC Northern Ireland business reporter Clodagh Rice tweets:

The FTSE 100 has opened higher and is trading up almost 0.4% at 6,668 points. 

HSBC is 3.4% higher at 499.4p despite a 29% slide in first-half profits.

Next shares are up 4% - though the stock is off almost 27% for the year to date. Nevertheless, the retailer is still worth £7.8bn - not too far off twice the market cap of Sainsburys, for example.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The Ofgem proposals do not go far enough, says Ed Kamm, UK managing director of the gas and electricity supplier, First Utility.

He tells Today that more needs to be done to help consumers: "We believe they correctly identified the problem, which is 70% of big six customers are on the standard variable tariff and the important thing to know there, is that is the highest priced tariff in the market."

Mr Kamm adds: "While we're supportive of the information remedies that the competition authority recommended, we believe it didn't go far enough to really engage those customers that don't look to shop around."

As FTSE 100 mining giant Rio Tinto reports underlying profits of $1.56bn, business presenter Victoria Fritz tweets:

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

More on Ofgem's proposals for the energy market. It's pointed out to Ofem chief executive Dermot Nolan that the regulator has shied away from capping standard variable energy tariffs.

He says the Competition and Markets Authority decided that capping standard tariffs "wasn’t in the best interests of customers".

Instead, it has proposed “a series of remedies” that he said would make the market fairer and encourage customers to switch energy suppliers.

But challenged on why customers should have to switch energy suppliers, Mr Nolan said Ofgem "believed encouraging competition was the best protection for consumers" and pointed out they ultimately switched providers in many other areas.

Switching rates had increased over the last year, he added.

The Ofgem boss said it was working to “empower customers and protect the vulnerable”.

Image source, Moneysupermarket

Moneysupermarket.com chief executive Peter Plumb has said he plans to step down before its next annual meeting in May 2017. He has run the company since 2009.

Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said: "During that time Moneysupermarket's share price has grown from 45p to 302p (as at 2 August 2016) ... and it has returned over £338m to shareholders in ordinary and special dividends."   

Revenue for the first half rose from £143.9m to £157.6m, while adjusted operating profit was up £3m to£53.8m.

Image source, Getty Images

More on Next: it says sales this year could fall by 2.5% - better than previous guidance - but added that trading remained volatile, reflecting weak demand for clothing. 

It expects full-price sales for the year to be in the range of 2.5% lower to 2.5% higher - narrowing a previous range of between 3.5% lower to 3.5% higher. 

Image source, Getty Images

Something of a mixed picture from Next today. It said full-price sales rose by 0.3% in the second quarter to 30 July compared with the same period last year - an improvement on the first quarter.

However, the retailer said that total full-price sales were down by 0.3% for the year to date.

Next said there was "no clear evidence of any appreciable effect on consumer behaviour, apart from the first few days after the vote" in the wake of the Brexit vote.

In the medium term the devaluation of the pound is "likely to affect the cost price of our goods".   

Ofgem has announced an interim price cap for households on pre-payment meters that it says will save them about £75 a year from next April.

The energy watchdog says these customers are among the most vulnerable and least likely to switch supplier.

The move is part of Ofgem's response to the remedies proposed by the Competition and Market Authority last month.

The CMA’s two-year investigation confirmed that two thirds of households were paying over the odds for their energy compared to those who have switched tariff. The remedies are aimed at increasing competition to cut bills and improve service for all consumers.

Image source, Getty Images

More on HSBC's results, which cover the period from January to one week after the 23 June EU referendum. 

Chairman Douglas Flint said: "The period ended with exceptional volatility as financial markets reacted to the UK referendum decision to leave the EU, a result that had not been anticipated."

The vote to leave the EU means the UK and UK business are entering a "new era", he said as he warned that negotiating Brexit and new global trade deals will be complex and time-consuming. 

Mr Flint also called for calm and careful consideration as to how prosperity, growth and a "dynamic economy" for the EU and UK can be ensured after an "orderly transition period", adding:

HSBC shares rose in Hong Kong on Wednesday - reversing morning losses - after Europe's biggest bank announced share buyback plan worth up to $2.5bn for the second half of this year. 

The move follows the $5.2bn sale of its Brazil business last month, the bank said.

We'll see the reaction is to its London-listed shares  

Image source, Getty Images

Proceeds from the sale of a stake in card payment firm Visa Europe helped Societe Generale post a quarterly profit of €1.46bn - up 8.1% on the same period last year. 

The French bank posted revenues of almost €7bn despite pressure from low interest rates and weak trading income. 

It's a similar story at rival Credit Agricole, where quarterly profit was up 25.8% to €1.16bn - boosted by the sale of a stake in Visa Europe.

As HSBC reports a big fall in profits, business presenter Victoria Fritz tweets:

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

Welcome to another day of Business Live. We'll have analysis of the big fall in profits at HSBC, and Standard Chartered is also reporting today along with some of the European banks.

At 07:00 Ofgem announces how it plans to respond to the Competition and Markets Authority report into the energy industry, and there's also numbers from Next. 

Thanks for joining me - get in touch at bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk or follow me on Twitter at @cajuk, external.