Over 40,000 consumers sign up to The Big Switch as the campaign receives cross-party political support

Thursday, 09 February 2012

The Big Switch campaign has already proved a hit with consumers, with over 40,000 people signing up within the first 24 hours. It is the first time in the UK that such a large number of people have come together as a group to negotiate a deal with energy companies.

Consumers can participate in the campaign by registering their interest at www.whichbigswitch.co.uk

Which? has uncovered that UK consumers are overpaying £4bn a year to energy companies by not switching to the cheapest energy tariff.

New energy secretary Edward Davey has also backed the campaign, saying:

"I'm delighted that Which? have developed their Big Switch, as I have long believed that collective purchasing will be a game-changer in terms of handing power back to consumers. It is a key feature of the Consumer Empowerment Strategy, Better Choice: Better Deals, I launched in April last year, when I also announced a £30,000 prize fund to stimulate ideas like collective switching. 

"As Energy Secretary I am determined to take this agenda forward. I want to make it easier for consumers to club together and use collective purchasing power to reduce their gas and electricity bills. We are looking hard at how we can do this and how we can remove barriers to enable more initiatives like The Big Switch. 

"At the same time we are working with Ofgem to simplify energy tariffs, make energy bills easier to understand, and boost competition in the market so that consumers can get the best deals."

Labour's shadow energy and climate change secretary Caroline Flint also pledged her support, saying:

“This is a simple but potentially trailblazing way to help bring down soaring energy bills. Even if this Government won’t stand up to powerful vested interests in the energy industry, I’m confident the British public will. When people come together, they’ll have more power to negotiate cheaper energy bills with the big energy companies.

“It sets an exciting precedent which organisations such as local authorities and housing associations could take up to negotiate better energy deals on behalf of their residents.”

www.whichbigswitch.co.uk