Issue - meetings
Energy Company
Meeting: 27/03/2017 - Cabinet (Item 108)
108 Tackling Fuel Poverty 
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Minutes:
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Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of Wirral Council, said:
“Fuel poverty is a growing issue throughout the UK, with people finding it more and more difficult to properly heat their homes and afford the rising costs of gas and electricity. 1 in 10 people in Wirral are in this same situation.
We must do everything in our power to support our residents to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives. This report proposes we create a new energy company, which would – at no cost to the tax payer – put us in a position to sell gas and electricity to residents at a much lower rate.
I am delighted we have been able to produce such an imaginative proposal to help every resident in our borough save money on their energy bills”.
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Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report which informed that across the country, local authorities were taking action to improve energy security, lower energy bills and support community economies by seizing opportunities to get involved with energy supply. By doing this they were able to provide customers with an alternative to the “Big 6” utility companies.
The Cabinet noted that as fuel poverty continued across the UK, consumers in the most need continued to be faced with a lack of choice from the energy industry. Local Authorities had been exploring various models to tackle this, from collective switching to energy efficiency measures and a number of them had already entered the energy market, mainly as either a Fully Licensed Operator, a White Label Provider or as a License Lite operator.
The Council now wanted to take action to reduce the number of people paying too much for gas and electricity. It was believed the best way to achieve this was to establish a new local energy supply service offer, which could provide competitively priced energy supplies supported by a programme of smart meter installations.
It was reported that research recently published by the Citizens Advice Bureau showed that people who had to use pre-payment meters, paid on average, an extra £226 a year on their energy bills, compared with those paying the cheapest direct debit tariff.
The Council was seeking to help address the issue of fuel poverty, as it was noted that it was an issue that affected a large number of Wirral residents (10.9%), and setting up an energy supply service would help alleviate this by enabling residents to obtain cheaper gas and electricity.
The Cabinet noted that there were three main Energy market considerations, each with differing levels of risk:
· Fully Licensed Operator (Example: Nottingham City Council)
The Local Authority applied to Ofgem for a license to become a gas and electricity energy supplier. It had to comply with a number of industry codes.
· White Label Provider (Example: Liverpool City Council, Cheshire East)
The Local Authority doesn’t hold a supply license itself, but partners with an already established licensed supplier to offer gas and electricity under its own brand (e.g. Wirral Energy). The Partner will already possess ... view the full minutes text for item 108