Power firm plans online ‘kit’ to help reduce bills

Customers with one of the “Big Six” suppliers will be able to compare their energy use with that of their neighbours as part of measures to help them save on bills.

E.ON has teamed up with US company Opower, which works with utilities to save consumers money on their energy bills, to launch an online “saving energy toolkit”.

Consumers will see their electricity and/or gas use compared with 100 anonymous E.ON customers with homes of a similar size and type, and against the most efficient homes in their area.

The scheme gives households a breakdown of where and when energy is used in the home, including a “what uses most” chart that splits current usage into heating, lighting, hot water, appliances and other use.

It will also detail how energy use changes from month to month, and compare costs for the current month to the previous month, showing how bills have been affected by weather and usage.

The toolkit provides tailored hints and tips, and energy goals.

According to Opower, its measures have helped customers globally save enough energy to power a city the size of Sheffield with half a million residents for a year.

Nandini Basuthakur, managing director for Opower in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “We’ve worked closely with E.ON to design the saving energy toolkit with its customers in mind.

“Our expertise in behavioural science, data analytics and consumer marketing, combined with our successful utility deployments worldwide, have shown that customers are motivated to behave more like their peers – in this case efficient similar homes.”