Co-operative Energy emerged yesterday as winner of the much-heralded Big Switch campaign launched by Which? and 38 Degrees.
The collective bargaining scheme aimed to find cheaper energy deals for more than 280,000 people who signed up. But the Co-op – which won the auction by offering the lowest tariff – will offer its deals to 30,000 people on a first come, first served basis.
Nigel Mason of Co-op Energy said: “We have used the auction as a launchpad for our new fixed rate tariff for people who want certainty about the rates they pay. Peopleneed to stay with us for 12 months and that allows us to offer a slightly reduced unit rate for both gas and electricity.”
The winning deals will be £1,048 a year for the average household if they pay by direct debit, and £1,144 a year if they pay by cash or cheque. On average people could save £119 if they pay by direct debit, or £183 if they pay by cash or cheque.
Co-op Energy was launched a year ago as an ethical alternative to the existing Big Six firms. It says it is committed to fair pricing and lower carbon energy, and is wholly owned by its customers, who are given a share of profits every six months.
David Babbs, executive director of 38 Degrees, who worked in partnership with Which? on The Big Switch campaign, said:
It’s great news that Co-operative Energy have won The Big Switch auction. Not just because tens of thousands of people are going to save money, but because it’s proof that people power can stand up to the big gas and electricity companies, and win.
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12 Comments
It seems poor that the Co-op has decided to disappoint 250,000 of the 280,000 people who registered for the big switch.
Presumably 38 Degrees will now by barraging Co-op with e-mails until the offer the rest 250,000 people who signed up wit the deal?
To be fair, Co-operative Energy is still a relatively new venture having been launched in 2010 by the Midcounties Co-operative on behalf of the wider co-operative movement. I think they can only take on so many new customers (and hopefully members) at one time. From tiny acorns grow mighty oaks!
Chris – But the point of the big switch was to get a good deal for 280k people. The co-op haven’t done that, so the big switch looks like a failure to me: 250k disappointed people is not a good result.
I agree with Tim Leunig. Any company could have won by offering a fanstastically good offer to a fantastically small number of customers. WInning would cost hardly anything, and the tariffs for the other customers attracted by the win could easily be increased a little to compensate. It really doesn’t seem like people can win at all.
I think the main point is that the Co-Op deal doesn’t even match the best on the market. Though that shouldn’t be a surprise given reports that the best tariffs today are actually loss making. So the Big Switch in all respects has been a Big Flop, IMO. All those people who signed up could’ve been saving money months ago by switching their tariffs through a comparison site and could still do better now.
A more productive use of collective power would be to pressure energy companies and the government to introduce schemes that allow consumers to permanently reduce the amount of energy they consume. That’s the only way to make real gains from here. It’s going to be decades before the renewable and/or nuclear infrastructure is capable enough to take over from carbon and prices start to come down again.
Am assured from on high that the remaining 250,000 got the next best deal (which was from edf), and that they saved more than £100 on average. £25m saving is not to be sniffed at!
Would be interesting to know whether the savings were bigger or small than these people going to uswitch to get the best deal (as I do, regularly).
Bit of a damp squip tbh as the EDF tariff was already available . We are customers of Co-op Energy but signed up to the Big Switch mainly out of interest as to how the winner would be able to cope with thousands of new customers. Our offer when it comes could be interesting. The only positive I can see is that it has probably reached people who have never switched before.
The EDF deal was already offered on the open market and therefore not a result of the Which? campaign. I have checked uSwitch and, if you live in the East Midlands, it is the second best deal for duel fuel behind First Utility (who are £42 cheaper) for a typical user (16000 gas/3500 electricity). You can also beat the EDF deal by taking your gas and electric from different suppliers (nPower and Scottish power, respectively) giving a £15 saving. AFAIK no tariff details have been published for the Co-Op deal but they say it is £6 cheaper for typical users than the EDF deal. So it’s fair to say it didn’t beat the market either.
The Co-op tariff is a fixed deal and they used the Big Switch to launch it, but don’t know the rate yet. Their customer service is good and they have a new call centre in Walsall which will be operating soon. . We are avoiding the Big Six, especially npower, they just aren’t worth the hassle caused.
What does all this prove? That energy prices are going up because of world market factors like nuclear uncertainty, competition from the BRICs, and peak oil? And that to scapegoat the Big Six companies over their price rises (even if they are not entirely blameless) is to vexatiously miss the important point, and to come close to allying with the climate change denialists?
We’re already Co-op Energy customers and received the Which quote today. Best deal is Sainbury or First Utility!
So how many customers will Co-op now lose. Most people will not be able to take up the Co-op deal anyway due to exit charges with their current provider !