‘People power’ collective switching scheme receives cross-party support

The launch this week of a collective switching movement, the Big Deal, has been welcomed by Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey.

Talking on Radio 4’s World at One yesterday, Davey said: “I’m delighted…we’ve pushed these ideas of co-operative principles, of collective principles” 

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna also welcomed the scheme, describing it as “a good thing”.

The movement is designed so that the more people that join, the stronger the collective purchasing power and the bigger the saving it will be possible to achieve.

Once enough people have signed up, the Big Deal will go to the energy companies to negotiate the best price possible for all.

A similar scheme in Australia, launched in 2012, got 250,000 people signed up and saved those involved 16.5 per cent on their energy bill.  In Britain the equivalent would be about £200 per person.

Conservative MP Rob Halfon, said: “Energy bills represent a huge strain on cost of living.  Harlow residents, alongside millions across the country, feel powerless against poor customer service, great energy rip offs – like premium charges on non-direct debit payments – and increasing bills. The best way to deal with this is not through an unsustainable, unrealistic energy price freeze but with real people power.”

The launch follows a recent Populus poll which found that half of people have had to cut down their spending because of energy bills and 51 per cent think politicians are “incapable” of helping them get a better deal.

17 per cent of respondents said they get a fair deal from their energy providers, 72 per cent said energy companies act like a “cartel” and 83 per cent said the energy market is “broken”.

Henry de Zoete, co-founder of the Big Deal and former special adviser to Michael Gove, said: “People think the energy market is stacked against them. Energy bills keep going up and people are having to make sacrifices. They don’t trust the Big Six to give them a good deal, nor do they have faith in politicians to help them. It’s time to take action ourselves. By joining together we can all get a better deal. More people means lower bills.”