Householders in Liverpool are being encouraged to join the latest round of collective switching to give them better bargaining power and make savings on their energy bills.

The scheme, organised by local charity Energy Projects Plus and backed by Merseyside local authorities including Liverpool City Council, is called Switch Together, Save Together.

Merseyside’s last collective switch took place in September 2014, saving participants an average of £212 per year and a “top saver” saving £825.

Collective switch works through asking people to register their interest in switching and then using the buying power of the whole collective to negotiate an exclusive tariff with energy supply companies. This tariff is exclusive to those who register for the collective switch. Prior rounds of the Merseyside Collective Switch attracted offers from .on, British Gas, nPower, Scottish Power, The Co-operative Energy and Good Energy, with tariff options for direct debit, payment on receipt of a bill and prepayment. The last two collectives included deals that were the cheapest on the market.

Winning tariffs are compared to other tariffs on the market to allow householders to check at a glance whether or not the switch is a good idea. Participants can then switch to any of these tariffs through the scheme with no obligation: if they don’t find a better tariff, then they don’t have to switch.

The scheme’s goal is to make it safer and easier to switch supplier, with expert advisors offering free, impartial advice throughout the process.

Elaine Cunningham took part in the collective switch and saved £670 a year on her energy bills, saying:

“I would definitely recommend the collective switch to others. It only took a few minutes to register, the information about the tariffs was clear and switching was quick and easy. I’m really glad that I took part because the savings are so great! If you’re not sure about switching or haven’t switched for a while, this is a good way to do it.”

Over £424,000 has been saved by Merseyside participants switching their tariff through the Collective Switch, with over £86,500 saved by householders in Liverpool alone.

Project Manager of the scheme at Energy Projects Plus, Ellie Abernathy, said:

“We’re all feeling the pinch at this time of year, and the rising cost of energy can be a real strain on household budgets. This is a great opportunity for the people of Merseyside to join together and collectively benefit from reduced energy bills. This collective switch hopes to be the biggest yet, and we’re aiming to get some great deals for the people of Merseyside. It’s free and easy to join, we’ll let you know how much you could save before you switch and there’s no obligation to switch if you decide not to. There’s nothing to lose. I would encourage everyone to join in and see how much they could save by switching.”

Offers will be announced on 2 March, with participant required to register before this date to join in on exclusive negotiated tariffs.

Households can join the Collective Switch at www.lcrenergyswitch.co.uk or by calling the local Save Energy Advice Line on freephone 0800 043 0151, where residents can also get free and impartial help and advice about saving energy at home.

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Words: Peter Cribley