Cheshire East teams up with housing provider to offer cheaper energy

 

Social housing tenants will be offered cheaper energy thanks to a deal between a leading housing association and Cheshire East Council.

Peaks and Plains Housing Trust has signed up to support Fairerpower, the gas and electricity supplier launched by the Council in conjunction with OVO Energy in March.

Along with the pay-monthly options, Peaks and Plains’ 5,000-plus householders could benefit from Fairerpower's pay as you go tariff, which is currently the cheapest prepayment tariff in the UK (see notes 1a/1b).

Fairerpower, a partnership between the Council and OVO Energy, has currently saved pay as you go customers £108 annually (see note 2).

So far, more than 1,800 people have switched to Fairerpower, potentially saving a combined total of £414,000 per annum (see note 3).

Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “I am delighted that Peaks and Plains Housing Trust has joined our battle against fuel poverty.

“Our pay as you go tariff is good for their customers, who are also our residents. We believe in putting our residents first and we look forward to more and more housing association tenants switching their energy supply to us.

“The Council is not making any money out of Fairerpower. In fact we are investing in it. The return we get is the savings we are securing for our residents.”

Fairerpower will also supply Peaks and Plains with gas and electricity for their empty properties and the commercial properties that it occupies or rents out.

Tim Pinder, chief executive of Peaks and Plains Housing Trust, said: “We applaud Cheshire East’s ambitions to reduce fuel poverty and if Fairerpower can reduce fuel bills for many of our hard-pressed tenants, that frees up more of their household budgets to be spent elsewhere.”

Craig Morley, managing director of OVO Communities, said: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Peaks and Plains so we can help even more residents get access to a fair deal on their energy.”

Fairerpower PAYG customers will get:

· Potential average savings of £67 per year on existing tariffs – in some cases this could be more (see note 4);

· A smart meter and in-home display to monitor energy consumption and account balance to help customers make better decisions about usage;

· Award-winning service through partnership with OVO Energy, which was named supplier of the year in the uSwitch Energy Awards 2014;

· A refer-a-friend scheme which offers a £20 Amazon gift certificate for referrer and referee (See note 5).

To find out more about Fairerpower or to switch, please go to www.fairerpower.co.uk or call 0800 408 6701 (pay monthly) or 0800 408 6705 (PAYG).