The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have launched a campaign called Power to Switch in which they are encouraging consumers to take control of their energy bills.
The aim of the campaign is to stop consumers paying more than they need for gas and electricity by making sure that theyare on the cheapest deals available. They have posted hoardings at street corners advising us to switch energy suppliers and save as much as £200 per year. This initiative is in addition to a refund of £12 towards the cost of our electricity bill which was made earlier this year under the Government Electricity Rebate (GER) scheme.
But Is it really necessary to change the suppliers? It could turn out to be “out of the frying pan and into the fire” when that energy supplier raises its prices to the level of the one whom we made the switch from.
We need to have power, we need to use gas to stay warm in winter. People who suffer most from the indiscriminate high prices are retired senior citizens who have nowhere to go during the day, and to avoid heating bills, they stay in cold and damp houses and suffer from depression and other illnesses and be a burden on the health service.
Instead of giving aid to foreign countries which in fact carry a chip on their shoulders against us, the Government could do even more to subsidise our energy bills.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
