A new round of collective switching is being launched for Merseyside. Householders are invited to be a part of it and see how much they could save on their energy bills.
The Switch Together, Save Together scheme is organised by local charity, Energy Projects Plus, alongside the six Merseyside local authorities.
The last Merseyside Collective Switch took place in September and saved residents an average of £203 a year, with one resident saving £825 a year and many saving over £500.
Collective switching works by asking people to register their interest, then using collective buying power to negotiate an exclusive tariff from energy suppliers. The exclusive tariff is only available to those who register for the collective switch.
Previous rounds of the Merseyside Collective Switch have attracted exclusive offers from E.on, British Gas, Npower, Scottish Power, The Co-operative Energy and Good Energy and have included tariffs for direct debit, payment on receipt of bill and prepayment customers. The last two collectives have included deals that were the cheapest on the market and only available to those who registered.
The winning tariffs are shown against other tariffs on the market, so householders can clearly see if it’s a good deal for them. They can switch to any of these tariffs through the scheme. If they don’t find a better tariff they don’t have to switch, there’s no obligation. The scheme aims to make it safer and easier to switch supplier, and expert advisors are on hand to offer free and impartial help every step of the way.
Mr Martin Doughty from Moreton, Wirral took part in the collective switch and saved £677 a year on his energy bills. He said, “I would definitely recommend the collective switch to others. It only took a few minutes to register, the information about the tariffs was clear and switching was quick and easy. I’m really glad that I took part because the savings are so great! If you’re not sure about switching or haven’t switched for a while, this is a good way to do it.”
So far, over £424,000 has been saved by Merseyside householders switching their tariff through the Merseyside Collective Switch.
Ellie Abernethy, Project Manager of the scheme at Energy Projects Plus said “We’re all feeling the pinch at this time of year, and the rising cost of energy can be a real strain on household budgets. This is a great opportunity for the people of Merseyside to join together and collectively benefit from reduced energy bills. This collective switch hopes to be the biggest yet, and we’re aiming to get some great deals for the people of Merseyside. It’s free and easy to join, we’ll let you know how much you could save before you switch and there’s no obligation to switch if you decide not to. There’s nothing to lose. I would encourage everyone to join in and see how much they could save by switching.”
The offers will be announced on 2nd March and you need to register before then in order to find out about the exclusive deals.
You can join the collective switch at www.LCRenergyswitch.co.uk or by calling the local Save Energy Advice Line on freephone 0800 043 0151, where residents can also get free and impartial help and advice about saving energy at home.