Ramsay Dunning of Co-operative Energy says: “Ofgem’s final proposals – released yesterday – are very welcome and represent what we have been campaigning for for some time – transparency and fairness. We believe this will have a lasting impact on both.

“The proposals are a significant step in the right direction towards facilitating increased competition meaning a better deal for energy customers.

“Previously pressure on Ofgem from the big suppliers has resulted in many of the market’s complex practices being allowed to continue so it’s good to see the introduction of a more level playing field which is more conducive to healthy competition and in the best interests of the consumer.

“In forcing Britain’s biggest energy generators to publish the prices at which they are willing buy and sell electricity for two years ahead, Ofgem can bring to an end the unfair practices often used to effectively block small suppliers out of the wholesale market. We also welcome the decision to impose fines on those who do not trade fairly.

“This represents one of a number of proposals and reforms coming from Ofgem that will help to break the stranglehold of the Big Six and result in a fairer deal for consumers.”

Abundance Generation – the FCA-regulated ‘democratic finance’ platform – is celebrating this year’s Wind Week by offering people the chance to win a share of an operational wind turbine previously funded by small investors via Abundance. The prize includes a weekend for two at a local hotel in the beautiful Forest of Dean and a chance to visit the turbine there. The winner will be the person who guesses most accurately how much energy the turbine produces during Wind Week.

The winner’s prize will be £250 worth of debentures in the 500 Kw turbine in the Forest of Dean owned and operated by Resilient Energy Great Dunkilns (REGD) PLC and funded last year through £1.4 million of investment by small investors last year through the Abundance platform.

As with all investments made in REGD, the winner’s debentures will pay a return based on a share of the revenues generated by making and selling clean renewable energy. When it is windier investors get higher returns on their investment and when less windy, lower returns.

The weekend for two at the local hotel is worth a further £250.

Risk warning: Your capital is at risk. Returns are variable and you may not get back all of your original investment. Debentures are long term investments and may not be readily realisable.

Bruce Davis, cofounder and joint MD of Abundance said:

“Wind Week is an important opportunity for the public to hear more of the facts behind the value of generating clean renewable energy through harnessing the UK’s huge wind resource, and our competition highlights just how easy it is for people to participate actively in supporting its development while gaining an inflation-beating return on their investment.”

To win the competition, entrants must make the closest guess to the amount of energy the wind turbine at Great Dunkilns will generate during Wind Week. To enter, people simply need to go to the competition page at www.abundancegeneration.com/competitions/windweek where they will find more details and links to the weather forecasts for the site, along with previous weekly generation figures to help them make their guess.

The competition is open to anyone living in the UK over 18 years who is not a US national.

Abundance is the first regulated online crowdfunding platform for renewable energy which aims to offer as many people as possible the chance to invest in renewable energy projects, including wind, solar and hydro across the UK. It is open to investors over 18 years to invest from just £5 and has raised £2.3m so far for 3 projects since launch in Spring 2012. You can find out more at www.abundancegeneration.com

Resilient Energy Great Dunkilns PLC was the first pioneering project to use the Abundance service to raise money for a 500 Kw wind turbine near St. Briavels in the Forest of Dean (click here for details). It raised £1.4 m from investors and has generated over 500,000 KwH since it was completed and commissioned in Oct 2012.

Co-operative Energy buys the green energy produced by the REGD turbine and is a strong supporter of the idea of more independent renewable energy producers who allow their local community to invest and benefit financially from the production of clean, renewable energy.

Total profits before tax and distributions for The Midcounties Co-operative for 2012/2013 were £11.4m. The application of profits for the period was taxation (£2.9m), distribution to members (£4.5m), grants and other distributions (£2.1) and re-investment in the business (£1.8).

Co-operative Energy has gained over 135,000 customers since it launched on the UK energy market in 2011 and is Britain’s fastest growing energy supplier, thanks to its simple tariff and competitive pricing policy. 2012/2013 saw a sales increase of 544 per cent and the Group now employs 111 colleagues to meet this growing demand. It also received the Positive Change Award at the Which? Awards 2012

Midcounties Co-operative, parent co-operative of Co-operative Energy was ranked as 13 in the Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For 2013. This represents the third successive year Midcounties has featured in the coveted list and its highest positioning in the table yet. This is further recognition for The Midcounties Co-operative, after it was named as Co-operative of the Year at the Co-operative Awards 2012.

Co-operative Energy picked up the Utility Supplier of the Year Award, which recognises the company that has made significant contributions to the industry, after impressing judges with its values of offering consistently competitive prices, being the only energy supplier to reward its customers with a profit share and providing one, simple to understand tariff. In addition, it was recognised for its commitment to providing the best customer service by an energy supplier.

Mandy Holford, Head of Operations at Co-operative Energy, commented:  “To be named utility supplier of the year is an outstanding achievement. We had a clear vision when we established Co-operative Energy two years ago and that was to give customers a fair and honest deal. By remaining true to our pledges we’ve won this award.

“To be recognised for our customer service too is fantastic. We know this is one reason why we have such loyal customers. The awards are testament to my team’s dedicated work in meeting the needs of our customers every day.”

The winners were announced at the awards ceremony held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on Tuesday, 16^th April.

•  Customers under-estimate bills by an average of £334
• 82% who believe they are on cheapest tariff available are paying more than they need to
• Dual energy consumers who think they are on cheapest tariff could save £180 per year
• Those who think they are on cheapest gas or electricity tariff could save £107 per year

Independent energy supplier Co-operative Energy today released data revealing that UK energy bills are so complex that consumers underestimate their bills, often missing out on the best deals as a result. With Ofgem’s consultation into tariff complexity closing on 23^rd April 2013, Co-operative Energy are proposing ‘Six Big Reforms’ and encouraging consumers to take to Twitter and urge Ofgem to ‘keep it super simple’ via the campaign hash tag #Big6KISS.

The survey, which tested the extent to which consumers understand their energy bills, found that, on average, UK consumers thought their bill came to £945 for the last year. Government figures reveal that last year the average energy bill was in fact £334 higher than people realised, at an average of £1,279.

The survey’s findings suggest a concerning level of awareness among customers about what they are paying, and what they could be saving.

37% of respondents said they chose their current tariff as they believed it was the cheapest available. Yet Co-operative Energy’s follow-up study among this group (using an independent price comparison site to test whether a cheaper tariff was available) found that 82% could be saving money.

Consumers on a dual energy tariff were found to be able to save an average of £180 per year. Those on single gas or electricity tariffs could be saving themselves an average of £107. In fact, only a third of the respondents (35%) in the second study managed to provide complete data for comparison from their bills – indicating just how complex energy bills have become.

The research also suggests a degree of apathy and confusion among customers, which could be costing them money:

• 65% of energy consumers didn’t know the name of their tariff or couldn’t remember it.
• Only 16% of energy consumers chose their tariff because it was transparent.
• 40% of energy consumers chose their current tariff more than a year ago.
• One in ten (11%) had moved house and stayed on the property’s existing tariff, rather than shopping around for the best deal.
• Only 21% of people were able to accurately identify themselves as having above or below average usage

Nigel Mason, Co-operative Energy said, “At a time when energy prices are going up and people have less money in their pockets, we need a better way for customers to be sure that they are getting the best deal. I expect those who thought they were on the cheapest tariff would be very surprised to learn that they are not. A saving of £180 is the equivalent of over a fortnight’s weekly shopping. I hope that’s a good enough reason for people to tweet at Ofgem and ask for reforms that will count.”

Commenting on the wider implications of the survey’s findings, Mr. Mason said: “Ofgem’s intentions for tariff reform are positive but don’t go far enough. The proposals published last month mean that there will still be at least 72 tariff options per supplier, and the possibility of over 1,000 tariff permutations still in the market. A number of worrying new loopholes have opened up, such as suppliers being allowed to create an unlimited number of special tariffs just for collective switching schemes. Far from simplifying the market for consumers, these final proposals go as far as to enshrine the current complexity in a new rule-book.”

Co-operative Energy’s recommended ‘SIX BIG REFORMS’

1. Limit of two open tariffs per payment method; one to be a standard (‘evergreen’) variable tariff.
2. The benchmark tariff –against which the price of all other variations should be compared – must be online, dual fuel, and direct debit.
3. Surcharges for variations from the benchmark (offline, single fuel, not direct debit) must be expressed as £/year for the average consumer.
4. No bundled tariffs.
5. The underlying supplier of ‘white label’ tariffs must be prominently labelled.
6. Commissions payable to switching sites and collective switching schemes must be disclosed.

Co-operative Energy (@CoopEnergy) feels strongly that the voice of consumers has not been heard in this debate, so are calling on the energy regulator – Ofgem (@Ofgem) – to go further in its reforms and remove these complexities. Consumers are being urged to support the effort by tweeting Ofgem, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (@DeccGovUk) and the large energy suppliers, asking them to ‘keep it super simple’ via the campaign hash tag #Big6KISS.

For more information please visit http://www.cooperativeenergy.coop/big6kiss.

This number is predicted to rise to one in three households by 2016. Living in a cold home can be extremely damaging to both physical and mental health. For example, a report by leading public health academic, Professor Sir Michael Marmot at UCL found that one in four adolescents living in cold housing are at risk of multiple mental health problems compared to one in 20 adolescents who have always lived in warm housing.

The Energy Bill Revolution alliance is calling on the Government to use the money it gets from carbon taxes to make our homes super-energy efficient. This is the only permanent way to drive down energy bills and end fuel poverty.

From next year the Government will be collecting over £2 billion in carbon tax every year, rising to £4 billion by 2020 and £7 billion by 2027. Recycled back into energy efficiency programmes, this would be enough to super-insulate more than 600,000 homes a year, bringing nine out of ten homes out of fuel poverty. It could also quadruple carbon emission savings from households compared to the Government’s new energy efficiency policies and create up to 200,000 more jobs – exactly what we need to support the UK’s economic recovery.

Nigel Mason of Co-operative Energy said: “This is a critical issue and Co-operative Energy is happy to join the alliance and offer support. We would encourage other organisations and businesses to take two minutes to sign the online petition, email their MPs and ask supporters and networks to do the same.”

Visit the petition at www.energybillrevolution.org

Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 9NN

Wood Green Animal Shelter, Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, PE29 2NH

Southend Tennis &Lesiure Centre, Southend, Essex, SS2 4FA

Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 9NN