My home county had the cheapest electricity in Norway 4 years ago, and then 3 years ago NTE (the single biggest supplier here controlling all the power in and outlet) got registered on the stockmarket.
Now we have the very highest prices in Norway...
Denmark is worse though, we went there last summer and paid well over 2 Danish Kroner for every Kw/H! Mind you, the Danish Krone is worth between 5-7% more than NOK which makes it even worse...

@Mummelmann
I find it very interesting that your rates vary from county to county in Norway. Here in Canada, it varies by province since most provinces have a single nationalized power supplier and they set their rates in a way that does not penalize remote (distant) villages.

In the UK it can vary from house to house, as there are several national suppliers.

@ Mistershine
How easy is it to switch providers? Both in terms of time (do you have to ask in advance?) and work (do they physically have to make changes at your house, or do the two companies just flick a switch at their end?). That is if its even possible to switch.

What are perks that some companies offer to entice more switchers (discounts or gifts)?

Thanks

Let's see.

I pay $0.09577/KWH for electricity, + $16.21 for service (even if I don't use any electricity at all) + ~$0.045/KWH for delivery.

Back in Dec 06, I was paying $0.05938/KWH for electricity + $16.04 for basic service + ~$0.0615/KWH for delivery.

So, overall, over ~1.5 years it has gone up ~$0.02/KWH

However, My overall usage has dropped ~1KWH per day (in the relative month, since obviously my bill spikes in August due to air conditioning) since I started paying my own electricity bills. I think I can get it lower if I change how my computer goes to sleep, stop turning on the lights in the morning, and by picking up some LCD monitors instead of the CRTs that I have. I also have 1-2 non CFLs left in a couple lights that I may change out. Those lights don't get used a lot though.

 EDIT: I don't know where I get my electricity from because I chose the option where National Grid chooses the cheapest for me. Most the electricity is Hydro, Nuclear or Gas. I can choose 100% renewable if I want, however, I would rather have an option for nuclear/renewable mix.

Switching is usually just a case of filling in a form online or phoning someone, and as for perks, they normally give you a discount if you buy both gas and elecricity from the same company.

http://www.uswitch.com/Energy/Index.aspx?i=1&sessionid=x3j3qNOvcsNaXN1xsmxwWni77sFEo9q%2f&ref=

This is the most TV advertised website for swapping suppliers.