Swindon Households Set to Make Big Savings on their Energy Bills

Hundreds of Swindon households stand to make significant savings on their energy bills, thanks to the collective switching scheme.

The Council took part in its second Big Community Switch scheme, run in partnership with ichoosr, in the run up to Christmas and 88% of some 550 people who registered interest can look forward to saving an average of £172 on their bills.

Darren Wallis, from Upper Stratton, is amongst those to benefit and will be pocketing an annual reduction of £300.

The 31-year-old business analyst said: “I’m extremely pleased. I’ve made a really good saving with no hassle whatsoever. The whole process was very quick and easy – it was all done for me. This is my first house, but it hasn’t taken me long to realise that prices are going up for everything and it’s hard to keep track of it all.

“I am delighted with the result because even freezing your bill in the current climate would be a result. It’s rare to see one of your outgoings actually go down so much and I’ve already been telling my family.”

Using people power to cut prices, the scheme works by using the combined buying power of residents from the Borough and across the country to negotiate cheaper tariffs with energy companies. Rather than switching provider as an individual, residents register to switch and save as a large group all at the same time to achieve economies of scale.

Matthew Smith, from Rodbourne Cheney, is also switching and is set to shave nearly £300 from his bills annually.

The retired Rover production worker, aged 81, said: “I’m not very experienced with using the internet – this is the second thing I’ve done online, after taxing my car. It sounded very good and I’m quite happy with the saving. Prices are going up for everything and my pension isn’t keeping up with it, so this was well worth it.”

Swindon took part in its first switching scheme last April, which resulted in hundreds of families saving an average of £72 a year on their bills. This year, partly due to more people taking part nationally, even bigger potential savings have been achieved.

Honda associate Danny McLoughlin, aged 52, from Haydon Wick, is set to be £250 better off having taken part.

He said: “We hadn’t changed providers for 12 years as I don’t normally pay too much attention to this type of thing. But I saw it in the Advertiser and thought why not give it a go. I’m glad I did – it was all very simple and I’ve got a better deal.”

Cllr Dale Heenan, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Sustainability, said: “One thousand local families have cut their gas and electricity bills in the last 12 months. For such a simple idea, the results of the collective energy switch are remarkable. Darren, Matthew and Danny have proven that people can take easy practical action now to tackle the cost of their energy bills. I have championed this idea since I first heard about it, and it’s great to see it making a real difference, but the challenge now is how do we encourage 10 thousand families to take part and save money. This initiative will re-open in April so keep an eye out!”