OUR former state-owned utility companies had failings, but existed to serve the man and woman in the street.

It all changed when gas, electricity and water services were de-nationalised. The private companies now in charge had a principal responsibility — to make profits for shareholders.

Yes, a privately-owned gas company has to be profitable, otherwise it would fail. That said, I cannot be alone in thinking that so-called energy industry regulatory bodies have not got the clout to curb excessive profits made by power suppliers. I also reckon many politicians from all parties cannot grasp the big picture when it comes to the energy business.

In fairness, it cannot be easy when there must be thousands of private energy firms operating in the UK. One of the great puzzles for me is the wind farm industry. Leaving aside the matter of turbines blighting the landscape and the cost of public enquiries when objections are raised to a new scheme, it has to be accepted there are benefits to the environment compared with certain other sources of energy.

It is nice to get something for nothing and wind is free — but, I repeat, does anyone really understand the big picture?

Wind farms fall into the renewable energy category. Some cynics say that is because the turbines have a working life of around 25 years and then have to be renewed. I felt as if I had just hit my head on a low door when first hearing a television news programme advise that wind farms had been told to shut down their turbines because it was too windy.

It struck me this was because their blades might fly off and cause mass destruction and threat to life.

I have subsequently learned that wind farms are told to switch off because they produce too much energy during windy weather and there is nowhere to store it.

It has been claimed that Scottish wind farms have received more than £8 million in compensation in the first fortnight of 2015 because of enforced shutdowns.

The energy industry is a funny old business, but it shouldn’t be.