Tag: Utilita

City council receives Utilita support for community projects

Utilita, the UK’s leading Smart Pay as You Go energy supplier, has donated £17,910 to The City of Edinburgh Council for community-based projects as part of its ‘Community Fund’ initiative.

The first project that’s kicked off included tree planting in a green space at Firrhill Crescent, in South West Edinburgh.

With Edinburgh set to become a ‘Million Tree City’ by 2030, three beautiful birch trees and three cherry trees were bought and planted by the council thanks to the Utilita Community Fund to benefit future generations to come.

Cllr Donald Wilson, Culture and Communities Convener at The City of Edinburgh Council, commented: “Edinburgh already outstrips other Scottish cities by having more trees per head of population.

“In 2019, we became the first Scottish local authority to support the Charter for Trees, pledging our full commitment to cherish, nurture and celebrate our trees. We are also committed to becoming a Million tree City and this is a welcome step forward working in partnership with Utilita and with local communities.”

Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan, Culture and Communities Vice Convener at The City of Edinburgh Council, commented: “The generous donation from Utilita helps to support our mission to become a ‘Million Tree City’ by 2030.

“We’re looking forward to working on many other great projects using the Community Fund which benefits the people of Edinburgh and our beautiful city!”

Bill Bullen, Environmentalist and CEO of Utilita, commented: “We’re delighted that The City of Edinburgh Council is putting the Community Fund towards a series of positive projects that’ll help enrich the area and support locals.

“The tree planting is a great project to kick off with and we’re excited to see how the fund will be used further in the coming weeks and months.”

Other upcoming community-based projects taking place as a result of the Utilita Community Fund include the rollout of digital equipment across 13 City of Edinburgh Council’s Sheltered Housing complexes.

The devices will be for the use of sheltered housing tenants and others in the area who might attend activities in the community rooms.

The move aims to empower tenants to interact with the council and other services online, promote social inclusion, provide tenants with the tools, knowledge and advice to support them should they consider buying their own devices, and build their confidence in becoming digitally connected.

As a direct response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Utilita – the only energy company created to help households use less energy – introduced measures to reassure and promote a ‘worry-free’ experience for all customers, especially those experiencing hardship or vulnerability.

In 2020 alone, Utilita issued £8.5m in account credits at zero interest for customers facing financial difficulty through its ‘Power Up’ feature in the My Utilita app, or via a customer call. Utilita’s dedicated Extra Care Team has also called every customer aged 80 and over to advise them on all the ways to top-up and stay on supply.

Central to helping people save money is the Utilita Energy High 5 movement, which enables every household to use around £163 less energy each year by making five free and easy-to-follow changes at home.

More than two million households have engaged with the movement so far – every household can benefit – not just Utilita customers, to start saving today.

Find out more: www.utilita.co.uk/energyhigh5

Utilita Hub raises funds for Leith Foodbank

Utilita, the UK’s leading Smart Pay As You Go Energy supplier, is running ‘The Utilita Energy Hub-to-Hub Challenge’ in Leith to support South Leith Parish Foodbank whose vital fundraising and community-building activities have been curbed by the coronavirus crisis.

The charity fundraiser kicked off on 18th May and includes a team from the Leith Energy Hub either walking, running, cycling or skipping the equivalent distance from the Utilita Hub in Newport in the Isle of Wight to the Hub in Leith – totalling a whopping 516 miles.

They are clocking up the miles by making the most out of outdoor spaces, such as doing laps in their local park until they reach the 516-mile milestone.

To promote positive physical and mental health during the lockdown, members of the Utilita Energy Hub team are also recording their weekly body mass index, to demonstrate the health benefits of the challenge.

Debra Clason, Utilita Hub Manager in Leith, said: “The Utilita Energy Hubs exist to give local communities a place to go to talk about reducing their energy usage, as well as providing a space free of charge where local community groups and good causes can host their own activities, so we wanted to fill that current void with something equally as community-centred, whilst keeping the staff active to promote positive physical and mental wellbeing.

“Each Energy Hub has chosen a local charity or support group to raise money for, reflecting Utilita’s ethos of engaging with and supporting local communities.

“The team in Leith chose to fundraise for the South Leith Parish Foodbank because on a daily basis, we see people access the service, some of whom are also our customers. It’s a sobering thought to think there is an increasing need for reliance on food banks in the UK, with many families just one pay cheque away from becoming homeless.

“The energetic Hub team will happily put in the leg work and would be grateful for your donations via a dedicated JustGiving page to help them on their way.” 

Rev Iain May, Chair of the South Leith Parish Church Food Bank, said: “The support from Utilita is really appreciated. In Leith, there are over 6,000 people, including over 1,500 children, who live on or below the poverty line.

“The efforts of the team from Utilita will make such a difference in allowing us to provide essential food to those in need in these challenging and difficult times.

 “The support of the local business community here in Leith has been amazing, and Utilita has been in many ways at the forefront of this recently. So thanks again for all many miles, running, cycling, skipping that Utilita staff are doing, it will really make a difference.”

Visit the Leith Energy Hub JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/hub2hubchallenge

The Utilita Hub teams have been busy taking part in the challenge across the UK, clocking up more miles each day – please see an infographic providing an update on how far they have travelled below.

You can download this here: https://we.tl/t-7mqEN1fpzT