Energy Deal - collective switching update

More than 2,300 households have signed up to Energy Deal - the first Kent-based collective switching scheme.

Energy Deal was set up by a partnership between Dover District Council and Dartford, Tunbridge Wells and Gravesham Councils. The scheme has enabled local residents to join 36,000 households across the country in the Big Community Switch, a nationwide collective of council-led switching schemes, in a bid to combine their buying power to negotiate a better deal with energy suppliers.

The winning suppliers for the scheme were determined by a reverse auction on 4 June. The supplier offering the best deal on the day for dual fuel for direct debit customers was Scottish Power. The estimated annual average saving for these customers is £98, with 62% of online customers expected to save. British Gas was the winning supplier for pre-payment meter customers, the auction estimated average saving on a dual fuel contract is £27.

Residents who participated in the scheme are being notified of the final details of the offer over the next few days and, if they decide to switch as part of the collective, they will have until 15 July to confirm their acceptance. Personal proposals will show an estimate of how much each household could save by switching to the new offer.

Cllr Nicholas Kenton, Dover District Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "We are pleased that Energy Deal has given residents, particularly those who have never switched before, the opportunity to make savings on their household bills. Collective switching not only provides residents with a hassle free way of switching, but it also encourages competition amongst energy suppliers. Energy switching has a key role to play in achieving affordable warmth, and helping to address fuel poverty, and we hope that the momentum of the scheme will continue with everyone regularly checking their energy costs."