Gas and Electricity Guides

British Gas announced plans this week to help 50,000 of the UK’s most vulnerable households with a free energy makeover.

The £10million scheme is set to improve the energy efficiency of these homes, with free energy assessments and home improvements designed to save them up to £250 a year on energy bills.

Speaking about the new initiative, British Gas’ managing director Phil Bentley said, ‘Improving energy efficiency in our homes is the quickest way to cut our bills and lower carbon emissions. And this initiative will particularly help our most vulnerable and hard-pressed families’.

Under the scheme, all British Gas’ customers over the age of 70 or on benefits should be eligible for the scheme.

To ensure the right households get the assistance they need, British Gas will work with charities like National Energy Action, Scope, the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the Money Advice Trust to ascertain who is most vulnerable.

All 50,000 households will get a free energy assessment which includes energy efficiency advice and tips on how to save money. There is also a free home insulation survey. Those who qualify will go on to receive their free energy makeover, which includes insulation and energy saving devices like standby savers electricity monitors.

Although the scheme is due to end on 31st December, British Gas expects to have completed it by mid September.

To find out more about the scheme, visit the British Gas website, britishgas.co.uk.

Sources:
http://www.energychoices.co.uk/british-gas-to-give-50000-households-free-energy-makeover-260710.html
www.britishgas.co.uk/
www.which.co.uk/
http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/3255/

Recent energy debt and disconnections figures released by Ofgem have fuelled concern about the affordability of gas and electricity in the UK according to price comparison website, uSwitch.com.

The numbers paint a gloomy picture; with 1.1million electricity and 0.8million gas customers now in official energy debt. The number of customers who have had to arrange debt repayment plans with their energy suppliers has also increased, with a rise of 19% of these in electricity and 18% in gas.

There’s also a rise in the average amount of energy debt being repaid, from £256 to £277 for electricity, and from £209 to £287 for gas.

Ofgem’s figures exclude customers who are not yet on a debt repayment plan, however research done by uSwitch.com reveals 5.5million households who are also in energy debt. uSwitch.com found the average debt to be around £132, which is 5% higher than 2009, and a staggering 16% higher than 2008 where this amount was £114.

There is also a sharp increase in the number of pre-payment meter customers, with 3.8million now for electricity and 2.6million for gas. Debt recovery is the main reason for this, because energy suppliers in a bid to get their money have installed more pre-payment meters, putting more customers on them.

uSwitch.com’s director of consumer policy, Ann Robinson warns, ‘These statistics are a sign of a far bigger malaise and raise a huge question mark over the ongoing affordability of our energy. Ofgem’s numbers are damning enough, but they completely overlook households that owe money to suppliers but are not on an official repayment programme.’

She added, ‘Our research shows that 5.5million households owe money to suppliers. When you start to look at both groups side by side you start to get a true sense of the size and scope of the issue we face over affordability.’

To help, Ofgem recently brought pre-payment meter prices in line with standard cash and cheque prices, however given the rise in pre-payment customers and the fact that they are still expensive, uSwitch.com does not feel this is enough for struggling customers.

Robinson said, ‘I would urge suppliers to talk to struggling households about their most competitive plans before moving them to a PPM. Although not suitable for all households, online plans are around £300 a year cheaper than being on a PPM – a big saving for those who are worried about paying their bills.’

Sources:
http://www.easier.com/74662-energy-debt-statistics-uswitch.html

Two major energy companies are in the spotlight for overcharging their customers. Both were investigated by industry regulator, Ofgem who found some customers were being charged what they described as an ‘unjustified price premium’.

The issue came to light during an Ofgem review of reforms recently undertaken by the energy market. Ofgem has yet to name the two suppliers in question, but has called for them to provide a detailed explanation fast.

Ofgem’s request for a speedy account is the first part of its process, and should the responses provided by the energy suppliers be inadequate, it would lead to a formal investigation which could result in a fine. It would only be at this latter stage when Ofgem reveals the names of the energy suppliers involved.

Energy suppliers were recently in the news for charging customers varying amounts depending on where they live. Ofgem launched reforms to help combat this so called ‘postcode lottery pricing’.

Ofgem’s senior partner of sustainable development, Sarah Harrison said, ‘We do have concerns over some premiums and have made it clear to the two suppliers concerned that we will take action if the differentials cannot be justified.’

Sources:
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/07/two-energy-suppliers-in-charging-probe-219174
http://www.energychoices.co.uk/two-big-six-energy-firms-are-overcharging-customers-010710.html

According to figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, there was a 6.8% decline in energy consumption during the first three months of this year, versus the same period last year.

The same research revealed a 6.5% decrease year on year in the amount of oil produced during the same period. It highlighted just 4.3 million tonnes of oil produced between January and March of this year.

Other notable findings included an overall decline in the average household expenditure on energy over 2008 and 2009. The figures showed a 6.2% decrease in the amount people spent on gas, and a 1.9% reduction in electricity.

These numbers were also supported by the recent 2010 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, which highlighted it as the first decline in the amount of energy used since 1982. Speaking of the decline, Iain Conn, chief executive of Refining & Marketing said it was a rare event, and consumption levels were on the rise again.

He said, ‘The world needs to invest today to be able to deliver the energy supplies that will be needed in the future.’

According to EDF Energy and the Energy Futures Lab at London’s Imperial College, the UK currently lies sixth out of ten of its neighboring countries when it comes to sustaining energy supplies.

On a positive note, the UK is first where saving energy is concerned. Over 70% of those surveyed had invested in loft insulation.

Sources:
http://www.uswitch.com/news/utilities/energy-consumption-declining-19860258/
http://www.uswitch.com/news/utilities/recession-reduced-energy-consumption-study-shows-19831635/

The advice given out by some experts this week is to check when your fixed rate energy tariff is due to expire before you get moved automatically onto something less competitive.

Nine fixed price energy tariffs from some of the ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers are due to end in the next few days. These are:

British Gas’ Price Promise
Scottish Power’s Capped Price Energy July 2010
EDF’s Annual Fix V3
E.ON’s Price Protection 18, Fixed Price 3, Energy Saver V5 &V6

Although these competitive tariffs are all due to expire, price comparison websites are urging customers on them to act fast, because switching online could save them up to £348 on their annual bill.

Complacent customers may well end up being transferred to a standard priced tariff by their energy supplier. Moneysupermarket.com’s utilities manager, Scott Byrom said, ‘In the worst case scenario, a provider could automatically swap customers across to its standard tariff meaning a potential increase of as much as £165 a year.’

The sure way of avoiding this automatic transfer to a standard tariff, would be for customers to review and switch tariffs six weeks prior to their fixed rate tariff expiring.

Energychoices.co.uk’s marketing director, Chris Eagle advises customers who still have time to find and swap to a better deal to, ‘…make sure you compare energy prices to ensure you’ve got a competitive online deal’.

He added, ‘If you haven’t switched away from receiving paper bills, now is the time to do it as there are great savings to be made’.

‘Lastly, get the timing right for your switch to ensure you don’t face an exit fee from your current deal, but get the right tariff in place now, and you’ll be set for the winter.’

Sources:
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/press-releases/new-month-new-rules/0009691/
http://www.energychoices.co.uk/beware-being-moved-onto-a-poor-energy-deal-230610.html

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