Tag: energy

Letter: Give us the power!

Dear Editor

There can be very few households in the UK who are not worried by their gas and electricity bills. The advice usually given is to shop around for lower tariffs, but this is no permanent solution. The absolute necessity for everyone to afford adequate fuel supplies is overwhelming but it seems that a few major suppliers have a near monopoly on the industry – and have been making millions of pounds profit.

Just a few examples:

£139 million Scottish Gas, February 2015

£549 million SSE, November 2015

£528 million British Gas (first six months 2015)

£860 million EDF, February 2014

£1.5 BILLION Southern Electric, Jan 2014

And yet there are perhaps millions of people who cannot afford adequate heating!

By any measure, this situation cannot go on like this in the 21st Century. As an essential necessity energy supplies MUST become  publicly-owned industries, working in the interests of everyone; profits made not for private individuals or groups of investors but used to reduce prices and to maintain efficient industries.

Energy supplies must be seen as important to the people of the UK as the NHS has proved to be. Maximum unity of working people is needed to press for these vital public services: it is up to us.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens 

Ewing hails community energy schemes

But the GMB union argues that we need more than renewable energy to keep the UK’s lights on

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Community energy can go from strength to strength following a strong year for the sector, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said yesterday. From large scale wind farms to small scale hydro projects, over £10 million was last year ploughed back into communities from renewable sources. Continue reading Ewing hails community energy schemes

The lifestyle quiz that helps you save …

Doug & Dora rose

How much money could you save by turning your thermostat down by 1°C, or not leaving your electrical appliances on standby? How much electricity can you save by washing your clothes at 30°C?

Answer correctly and you could cut £155 or more off your energy bills, and have a chance to win £100 or £50 in gift vouchers, in a prize draw being run by Home Energy Scotland.

The answers are among five useful tips included in a quiz leaflet, ‘Your chance to win – and reduce your energy bills.’

Watch out for the leaflet in Council mailings or call Home Energy Scotland free for a copy on 0808 808 2282.

Jill Fenton, Manager at Home Energy Scotland advice centre in the South East said “This quiz shows how easy it is for people to make simple changes to save energy, reduce their fuel bills and cut their carbon emissions. It’s a fun way to help people to remember.”

Home Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government to offer free, impartial advice on making your home cheaper to heat. For in-depth advice on how to reduce your energy bills or become more energy efficient, freephone Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or text WARM to 81025.

Nikki, a young mum of two, who called Home Energy Scotland said “If I had a friend who needed help with heating their home or paying their energy bills, I’d say call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 and find out what they can do to help”

Power to Switch: government encourages energy consumers to shop around

A new government campaign has been launched to encourage consumers to shop around for the best energy deals

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13.5 million households across the UK are missing out on their share of £2.7 billion by sticking with their energy company, according to the Department of Energy & Climate Change. They say that by shopping around and taking advantage of the best energy deals on the market, millions of people can save around £200 – and some can save even more.

The ‘Power to Switch’ campaign, launched today, encourages people to switch supplier and save money by visiting www.BeAnEnergyShopper.com. With 26 energy companies on the market and some fixed deals £100 cheaper than they were a year ago, there’s never been a better time to find a great deal, switch and save.

Launching the campaign, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: “When it comes to switching, the power is in people’s hands to get a better deal and save. We’ve reformed the market so that there are more suppliers, more competition, and a much faster and simpler process to switch. That means millions of people can switch supplier and save hundreds of pounds today.”

Energy and Climate Change Minister Amber Rudd said: “We’ve already taken £50 off bills and now we’re urging people to take advantage of the most competitive energy market we’ve ever had to save hundreds of pounds. With Ofgem’s strengthened Confidence Code for price comparison sites, people will be able to have greater confidence than ever before that by switching, they’ll see real savings.”

The Government’s programme of energy market reform includes:

  • Halving switching times – it now takes only 17 days to switch energy supplier down from 5 weeks last year;
  • Encouraging new suppliers on to the market – there are now 20 independent suppliers;
  • Legislating to back Ofgem reforms that force energy companies to make energy bills clearer – and providing information for customers about how to switch.

Ofgem has recently strengthened its Confidence Code for price comparison websites, setting tighter standards on how tariffs are displayed with websites given until the end of March to comply.

Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert, said: “We need to shout loud about the benefits of switching tariff. Too many people think energy firms are ‘all the same’. That’s far from true, there are huge differences on both price and customer service.

“The worry is that news of recent price cuts, even though they were paltry, will have given many false confidence that they’re on a decent deal. Examine the figures and the ugly truth is very different.

“Even after price cuts, someone on a Big 6 supplier standard tariff with typical use will pay £1,158 a year, whereas switch to the cheapest tariff and they’d pay just over £900 a year. So it’s worth people taking 10 minutes to see if they can save themselves £250 ― at an hourly rate of £1,500 if someone else was offering this to you as work, would you turn it down?”

The ‘Power to Switch’ campaign will run for four weeks and will include national, regional and online advertising, encouraging people to switch and save.

For more information about how to switch energy supplier visit www.BeAnEnergyShopper.com or call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234.

Keeping Scotland’s homes warm

Fire-1An additional £20 million will be invested to cut fuel poverty and improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s housing, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil confirmed today. And with energy costs tumbling, Mr Neil also urged energy providers to implement price cuts NOW.

£6 million is earmarked for home energy efficiency programmes that will support measures such as solid wall, cavity or loft insulation.

An additional £14 million will be invested in low cost home energy efficiency loans available to households in the private sector to supplement existing grant schemes to help install energy efficiency measures.

This additional funding will take the Scottish Government’s investment to tackle fuel poverty and boost energy efficiency over the three years 2013/14 to 2015/16 to around £300 million.

Details of the loan schemes will be announced in due course.

Mr Neil said: “This Government is determined to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency head on, as this additional £20 million investment for energy efficiency measures demonstrates.

“Fuel costs have risen six times faster than incomes since 2003. In 2013, fuel prices rose by seven per cent, pushing more people into fuel poverty. The fact that this is happening in an energy-rich country is outrageous.

“Given the recent reductions in energy costs, all energy providers must implement price cuts now and not wait until the Spring.

“This additional funding means we have allocated over half a billion pounds since 2009 to make Scotland’s homes more energy efficient”.

“Over 700,000 households have benefited from measures like new boilers or insulation targeted in particular at those in or at risk of fuel poverty.”

Government to invest £224 million to tackle fuel poverty

gasDeputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that the Scottish Government is set to invest millions in a new national fuel poverty scheme. She made the announcement as she launched a campaign aimed at helping people reduce their winter fuel bills.

The Government will shortly be inviting bids for a contract, worth up to £224 million over seven years, to deliver a new national fuel poverty scheme from 2015.

The new scheme will deliver energy efficiency measures such as better insulation and heating systems, helping to create warmer and greener homes for thousands of Scots.

The announcement comes as a campaign is launched encouraging Scots to take advantage of free help which is available now to reduce their winter fuel bills.

The Home Energy Scotland campaign seeks to provide householders with free and impartial advice on support to help cut energy bills, whatever their circumstances.

Launching the campaign, the Deputy First Minister said: “It takes just one phone call to the Home Energy Scotland hotline to see if you can save money on winter fuel bills, and I would encourage people to call the hotline on 0808 808 2282, or visit the HES website.

“Anyone can get energy efficiency advice and find out what’s available to them, and many others can also qualify for energy saving improvements such as insulation, boilers or central heating for free.

“Rising energy bills remain a huge concern for the Scottish Government and fuel poverty is still a major issue in Scotland, with over 27 per cent of households affected.

“It is a scandal that there should be any fuel poverty in an energy-rich country like Scotland, and that is why I am delighted to announce a contract worth up to £224 million over seven years for the delivery of a new national fuel poverty scheme from 2015.

“This will build on the success of the Energy Assistance Scheme, which has provided over 46,000 vulnerable households with heating and/or insulation measures over the past five years.

“This long term contract will help thousands more households over the next few years, and is testament to our commitment to helping Scots escape fuel poverty.”

visit www.homeenergyscotland.org.uk

or call 0808 808 2282 for more information