The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has agreed to join forces in a Collective Energy Switching programme.
With winter approaching and household bills rising, the ten Local Authorities in the GMCA have signed up to establish a dedicated energy collective on an initial one-year basis.
The groundbreaking scheme encourages people to join together in a collective bulk-buying group that can deliver significant savings in their energy bills. It could see residents across the region cutting their bills by as much as £150 each.
People are being urged to sign-up and register their interest in combining their purchasing power to bulk-buy. The group will then go to auction in January 2013 to get a cheaper deal together on gas and electricity from energy companies.
Edward Davey MP, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, visited the Green Technology Centre at Oldham College today to launch the GMCA scheme. He said: “I am delighted that ten local authorities across Greater Manchester have come together so that they can help people across the region to save money on their energy bills.”
“With energy prices going up I think everybody wants to see how they can cut their bills, so I would urge people across Greater Manchester to look at this fantastic scheme and consider signing up.”
The GMCA programme will build upon work undertaken by Oldham and Rochdale Councils’ ‘Power to the People’ scheme which has already signed-up more than 800 residents to go to auction on November 26.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Assistant Cabinet Member at Oldham Council, said, “It is fantastic news that our collective energy switching programme is being joined by all ten of the neighbouring Greater Manchester authorities.”
“Together we now have around 1.2 million households who can come on board with this, and we are still speaking to other interested Local Authorities up and down the country.
“This should significantly swell the size and purchasing power of the collective group which means even bigger potential savings for residents. Retail energy prices have more than doubled in under seven years. More price rises have been announced in recent days and this is a major financial headache for families everywhere.
“To generate these savings the GMCA members are firmly committed to working hard to raise awareness of this scheme and get as many people as possible to sign-up.”
The GMCA has also agreed to bid to the Department for Energy and Climate Change for funding for promotional and marketing work for the scheme.
How does it work?
The GMCA Collective Energy Switching Scheme works in the same way as bulk buying. The more you buy of a product, the cheaper the price is.
When you go to the supermarket it normally works out cheaper, for example, to buy one big packet of washing powder instead of many small packets.
So if people group together to buy their energy in bulk from one energy provider, the group will get a better deal than if they try to do it individually.
Visit http://www.oldham.gov.uk/fuel_coop for more information on the scheme already on offer from Oldham and Rochdale Councils.
How do you sign up?
The sign up process is free, quick and simple and there is no obligation to switch providers if you decide you don’t want to.
All you need is a recent energy bill to hand, so that we can estimate your annual energy usage and spend.
