The energy industry must improve in the long-term, but that doesn’t mean we should do nothing until then. We’re attending an energy summit to find practical things we can do today to help you save money this winter.
Have you put your heating on yet? It’s starting to get cold and many are reaching for the thermostat. But with rising energy prices, many will be holding off in fear of ever increasing bills.
Energy prices are the number one financial concern for consumers. You might have noticed that at Which? we’ve been turning up the heat on energy companies recently – getting more affordable energy is your priority and so it’s ours as well.
Getting round the table
Tomorrow Which? is attending a very important energy summit. The government, consumer groups and suppliers are all sitting down together with one shared goal – to work out what we can do to help consumers right now.
We want to see how to help those who are struggling to pay their bills, people who might never have switched or be confused by tariffs, and people who are worried about putting their heating on in October because they’re nervous about the impact on their pocket.
I’m hoping that the summit will give us some real, practical solutions that can be implemented straight away. I’m looking forward to walking out of that meeting with commitments from everyone around the table about what we can do together to ease the pressure before things get too cold.
There are longer-term problems
Of course, there are lots of problems that will take much longer to solve. We must encourage more competition in the market and make sure it delivers genuine value and choice for consumers.
The energy summit is just one of the first steps on the long road to a better energy market. We’re going to be there at every step – tackling confusing tariffs, exposing poor energy advice, and working with the government and Ofgem to instigate the change that you want to see.
But, in the meantime, we don’t want to tell you to hold on and just wait until all the problems have gone – that’s not realistic. We know there are things that the energy companies, the government and we at Which? can do right now. For instance, encouraging switching, making sure you’re on the cheapest tariff with your current supplier, and giving you clear information about how to save energy before the winter sets in.
I hope that after Monday’s energy summit you’ll have the right tools to save money on energy straight away. Not in two, five or ten years time – but this winter, in time for Christmas.
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