Bid to save on bills with mass energy switch

Residents could save up to £250 a year on their energy bills by taking part in the borough’s first collective switch of energy supplier.

With energy prices rocketing many households are struggling with energy bills but a new scheme in the borough aims to cut costs.

Based on the premise that by working together cheaper prices can be obtained from energy companies, residents are being asked to add their address to a list of properties seeking a better annual rate for their electricity and/or gas.

The supply for the list is then “auctioned” to seek the best rate. Calderdale Council is organising the list, alongside authorities in Greater Manchester.

Almost 1,500 people have already registered their interest in the scheme, which went live on Wednesday.

Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for economy and environment, Coun Barry Collins, said: “Up to now, the big energy companies have been able to call all the shots, but by working as a collective, households can drive a harder bargain at auction and get a cheaper tariff.”

The deadline for a similar scheme involving 12 local authorities across the country, including Hull Council, was extended last year to allow more people to sign up.

A similar auction led by South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria saw prices drop between £60 and £200 a year.

The auction for the Greater Manchester Energy Switching Scheme, which includes Calderdale, will take place on January 29 and the last date for residents to sign up is January 28.

There is no obligation for people to accept the rate offered in the auction – each household can compare what is on offer with their current rate and decide what to do.

But the more people who sign up as interested, the better the auction rates tend to be.

Similar schemes in other areas have achieved annual price reductions of up to £250 per year on household bills.

Calderdale Council’s scrutiny chair for economy and environment, Coun David Hardy, said: “While some people switch companies or tariffs occasionally, many have never switched their energy provider or even compared different tariffs. These are the people who are likely to get the best savings out of the collective switch.”

Councillor Hardy, who has championed the scheme since its start, hopes that as well as helping elderly residents, it will save money for those people who pay for their energy by cards and keys.

He said: “People on pre-payment meters are also encouraged to sign up, as on average they pay 15 per cent more for their energy.”

Councillor Hardy hopes the scheme will be a first for West Yorkshire.

He said: “These schemes have been running in Holland and Belgium for quite a while. With these schemes, the more we have the more the energy companies are going to sit up because the boot is on the other foot then. Instead of them dictating what they want to charge it will be us telling them that they have to bid for our business. It’s not just a given fact that they have got our business and they can treat us any way they want.”

Calderdale Council was awarded a grant of £40,000 before Christmas to advertise the scheme and to help get it off the ground.

The offer to express an interest is open to anyone with a residential gas or electric supply.

People can express an interest online at www.calderdale.gov.uk/housing or by calling 0800 009 3363.