Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 27TH OCTOBER - 2ND NOVEMBER 2017 | 27 Citizens Advice Scotland has called for Scots who make their homes more energy efficient to be given council tax rebates. A report by the charity's Consumer Futures Unit into Scotland's Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP) recommends offering households a £500 rebate the year aer installing home energy improvements such as double glazing or insulation. ENERGY Report calls for council tax rebates for home energy improvements The report warns one of the biggest challenges for SEEP, which will be introduced in 2018, is improving energy efficiency standards in owner- occupied properties. Accord- ing to the report, two-thirds of owner-occupied homes in Scotland are below the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C, which is generally seen as a "good" standard. In order to encourage more households to invest in energy- efficient measures, it recom- mends the introduction of a new incentive system. "If the ultimate objective of SEEP is to upgrade all homes to a Band C energy rating, around one million owner-occupiers in Scotland will need to upgrade their homes," said the unit's energy manager, Kate Morrison. This week London council starts local energy supplier Islington's Angelic Energy is London's first new municipal energy supplier for more than a century Islington Council has launched London's first new municipal energy company in more than a century, under the name Angelic Energy. The not-for-profit supplier has been created by the local author- ity to aid its efforts to combat fuel poverty and inequality in the borough. "We took this step to deliver fairer energy bills and to take on the big six, who still have a stranglehold on our energy retail market," said Islington Council executive member for environment and transport Claudia Webbe. "Unfair energy pricing means we have thousands of residents in this borough who are languishing in fuel poverty," she told the audience at the launch event. One of the main groups Angelic Energy will seek to help is the estimated 23,000 residents in the borough using prepay meters. Webbe said many were resorting to "self-disconnection" as they are forced to choose between "feeding their meters or feeding themselves and their children". The supplier will also target disengaged cus- tomers, in particular private tenants and the elderly. She added: "We hope that by using the council's status as a trusted brand, we can encourage these people to switch." Angelic Energy has been set up as a "white label" company in partnership with Robin Hood Energy, the not-for-profit municipal energy supplier set up by Not- tingham City Council. The arrangement means Angelic Energy's tariffs and customer services will be provided by Robin Hood Energy. Three municipal energy suppliers have already been set up in partnership with Robin Hood Energy under the white-label model: LECCY in Liverpool, White Rose Energy in Leeds and most recently, Ram Energy in Derby. TG ENERGY First Utility to offer smart home gadgets First Utility is to offer smart home products from Nest on selected tariffs – with no upfront cost. The energy and broadband provider will offer the full range, including the thermostats, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The first tariff featuring a Nest device is the First Control Octo- ber 2019 rate, priced at £1,125. First Utility said it will come with a Nest Learning Thermostat and installation, worth £279. First Utility customers will also benefit from an opt-in service using everything the Nest Ther- mostat has learned about their home and temperature prefer- ences to find ways to save energy without compromising comfort. Chief commercial officer Ed Kamm said: "We want to help more people get access to smart technology, which is why we're offering good-value energy tariffs with a range of smart home products at no upfront cost. We think it's important to ensure that the benefits of smart home technology – bringing greater energy efficiency and safety – are accessible to all." ENERGY Doncaster to launch municipal supplier Doncaster Council has announced plans to launch a new municipal energy supplier called Great North Energy on 7 November. The local authority has begun by inviting residents to register their interest in switching to the not-for-profit company. Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said: "This is our opportunity to ensure that the people of Doncaster are getting a fair deal on gas and electricity." The new supplier will focus on selling energy to local resi- dents, in particular those living in fuel poverty or using prepay- ment meters. Great North Energy will be the fih company to be set up in part- nership with Robin Hood Energy, which will provide "white-label" tariffs and customer services. WATER Coca Cola seeks self-supply licence Coca Cola European Partners (CCEP) has become the fourth large business water customer in England to request a self-supply licence. The company has applied to Ofwat for a water supply licence and sewerage licence with a self- supply authorisation. CCEP is a manufacturer of so drinks and producer of mineral waters and other bottled waters. Among the products made by CCEP in Great Britain are Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes and Capri Sun. To facilitate the application, CCEP has entered a partnership with Waterscan. The consultancy will be responsible for the retail functions including market transactions and data validation. Webbe: Angelic wants 'to take on the big six' "The Scottish Government therefore needs to persuade peo- ple of the benefits of installing energy efficiency measures, and design a scheme that makes it easy for them to take action, and incentivises them to do so. "Our research suggests the most popular incentive for householders would be a prompt £500 council tax rebate the year aer upgrading their properties."

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