Power to Switch in Plymouth

A service in Plymouth which has saved local people thousands of pounds by helping them change how they buy, use and generate energy, is backing a national campaign.

Local Community Benefit Society, Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) are supporting the #PowertoSwitch campaign, alongside Plymouth City Council. PEC’s trained advisors offer a range of services to help local residents and organisations with energy use and bills, including fuel debt advice, energy supplier switching, community-owned renewable energy installations, insulation and heating support, and home energy advice visits to households that need it most.

The #PowertoSwitch campaign, recently launched by the Cabinet Office, aims to make it easier for people to get a better deal on their energy. PEC reassure those who want to find out more about ‘Power to Switch’ that switching can be a straight forward process and that millions of people have already been switching and saving across the country.

Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Cooperatives and Housing for Plymouth City Council, said: "We welcome the Power to Switch campaign as it complements the work we are doing in partnership with Plymouth Energy Community to promote affordable warmth. It is an opportunity for consumers to fight high energy costs by switching to better and more suitable deals and we have some fantastic support in place here in Plymouth to help navigate people through different energy suppliers, which can be a minefield."

Alistair Macpherson, Chief Executive of PEC said: "We provide a holistic approach to help residents with a variety of energy needs, and switching energy suppliers is a big part of that. Our energy team have helped thousands of households save over £300k in energy advice and measures. From our experience, the average savings through switching is over £200 per year – we even had one gentleman who saved £430! Everyone has the ‘Power to Switch’ and we would encourage people to visit our website or call our helpline. You can save money and at the same time, support a non-for-profit organisation that puts all funds back into helping more local people in the Plymouth area.”

PEC have recently launch their ‘Healthy Homes’ programme, providing bespoke advice and energy measures for residents suffering with illnesses made worse by cold, damp homes.

Find out all of the ways PEC can help you with your energy needs by visiting www.plymouthenergycommunity.com. For more information on how you can compare prices and switch energy suppliers, call PEC’s helpline on 01752 477067. For general enquiries or to arrange a home visit, call 01752 477117.