Energy UK, which represents the energy industry, said Ofgem was right to highlight the challenges it faces in the coming years.

BBC: Power shortage risks by 2015, Ofgem warns

Jamie Wimberly of the Consumer Energy Council of America, which represents the interests of smaller users of electricity, insists that the real gains will come with the impending convergence between the energy and telecoms sectors.

ECONOMIST: The electric acid test | The

According to Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, which represents the interests of the wind power industry, the court's decisions and the investment in renewable fuels illustrates the "growing consensus" that something must be done to curb global warming.

FORBES: Greener Days Ahead?

Energy UK - which represents the big six firms - said Britain had one of the most competitive energy markets in the world, with the cheapest gas and the fourth cheapest electricity of all major European countries.

BBC: Chris Huhne pledges to 'get tough' over energy prices

Garry Felgate, chief executive of the Energy Retail Association (ERA), which represents the suppliers, said that companies understood that the regulator was doing its job by raising the issue, but that companies were operating in the most competitive energy market in the world.

BBC: Warning shot over UK energy bills

In addition, the electric utility lobby in Washington is extraordinarily powerful, and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents public utility heavyweights like Edison International, Exelon and Constellation Energy Group, is fully behind the department's announcement of "national interest" zones.

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