Residents are being encouraged to find out about two new energy tariffs offering a choice of green and affordable deals by supplier Our Power supported by Bath and North East Somerset Council and Bath & West Community Energy.
Councillor Mark Shelford (Conservative Lyncombe) cabinet member for Transport and Environment, was the first at the council to switch to the green energy tariff when it launched.
It means the green electricity he will use at home is locally sourced and community-owned wherever possible and comes from community-owned solar energy arrays in Bath and North East Somerset.
The Our Local Green Energy tariff provides 100% renewable electricity as part of a dual fuel offer with gas. It offers locally-generated renewable energy to residents through a collaboration with not-for-profit energy supplier Our Power and local community business Bath & West Community Energy.
The scheme also includes the Our Fairer Energy tariff from Our Power, which is currently one of the cheapest tariffs available on the market for dual fuel pre-payment meter customers. Around 11,000 households in B&NES (14%) pay for energy by pre-payment meter.
Councillor Shelford said: “I wanted to be the first person at the council to sign up for the green tariff because it supports the council’s objectives of tackling fuel poverty and supporting renewable energy in the district. When I put the kettle on or switch on a light it will be with energy that is locally-generated and from a not-for-profit supplier. It is in line with the council’s Core Strategy district target to deliver 275MW local renewable energy generation in the district by 2026.”
Our Power was one of the first not-for-profit energy suppliers in the UK and was founded by housing associations, community organisations and local authorities with the aim of making energy fairer and greener.
Our Power will be working with Bath & West Community Energy which will support with community marketing and whose local community-owned renewable energy generation projects will be among the first to power the scheme.
Residents from Bath and North East Somerset can sign up at https://our-power.co.uk/
