Last month British Gas hiked up the cost of gas and electricity by 18% and 16% respectively. If you are one of millions of British Gas customers who have been affected by this hike then what can you do as a British Gas customer to compensate for these increases? Of course, the straight answer is to become more energy efficient and sustainable. Yet, if you wanted to utilise the initiatives of British Gas directly what could you do? By continuing to read this article, this article will outline how British Gas Customers can benefit from the initiatives that British Gas themselves are trying to set into place.
Due to the UK government’s plans to install energy efficient technology in every home by 2019; British Gas have revealed that it will start fitting Landis+ Gyr touch screen display units from next month on a regional basis alongside new smart meter installations [1].
The company already has 400, 000 smart meters installed in some homes and businesses, but this is a slightly older version. The new version is to benefit from a dual electricity and gas meter reading function. The idea is that customers are able to see their real time energy use in pounds and pence and as a result be more responsible and take more action for the energy they use.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, users of smart meters could save up to 10 percent on their bills. If you want one of these meters then why not enquire about which regions are being tackled first. That way you can keep in touch with the developments of your utility company and seek to gain from smart meter usage.
Home Energy Plan
An initiative that is meant to work similar to the Government’s Green Deal; but is to be “more flexible”, the newly introduced Home Energy Plan it is hoped will save customers on average £322 per year.
The Home Energy Plan is an initiative in which an energy expert is sent to homes and recommended energy-saving measures are advised. This may cover aspects of homes such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, hot water tank jackets, thermostatic radiator valves or even programmable thermostats [2]. The customer is then given a projected amount they will save if they install the measures. By installing these measures customers are to benefit from a rule which is similar to the Government’s Green Deal, ‘Golden Rule’ [3]. This rule states that loan repayments will be issued and are guaranteed to not exceed the cost of savings brought by the energy efficiency improvements [See our own Green Deal Article, 4]. Effectively, the cost of installing the measures becomes free. If desired, other payment options are also to be provided.
To be more specific, the loan in question is to be financed by Barclays at an annual interest rate of 6.9%. To reiterate again, the repayments should be less than the savings made and the money can be repaid over an agreed, five, ten or fifteen years [2].
Jon Kimber, managing direct of British Gas states: “”Britain’s housing stock is some of the most inefficient in the developed world with £1 in every £4 spent on heating our homes wasted because of poor insulation. Under our offer, customers can improve their homes and save money by cutting bills – all at no upfront cost”.
According to Kimber, it is more flexible because customers who choose to invest in bigger projects can pay the deposit over a fifteen year period for instance. Customers who want a much smaller project can simply choose the smaller changes under the much smaller time scale [3].
So far 50 Energy experts have been trained to provide free, no-obligation surveys for households through its Home Energy Plan. Furthermore, it is also claimed that the price hike of electricity and gas has not subsidised this plan [3].
The one obstacle is that if you do want to take part in this home plan, you must be buying either gas or electricity from British Gas, and you must be a direct debit paying customer.
Home Chargers
British Gas is offering to install and maintain, fast charge points in the homes of employees who have leased out electric cars from other companies [5].
Having signed a deal with Hitachi’s fleet management, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, it is so employees can benefit from being able to charge their cars three times faster than plugging it into the mains. The cost of the installation is to be pre-agreed in the customers lease contracts and the maintenance provided by British Gas.
British Gas wants to become the preferred supplier in charge points for 70 percent of the electric vehicle market and has been expanding their market rapidly by setting up an agreement which places the company at the heart of supply to Nissan and Renault’s electric car models.
[1] http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2105525/british-gas-dish-landis-gyr-smart-meters
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/22/british-gas-home-energy-plan?INTCMP=SRCH
[3] http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2094811/british-gas-launches-green-deal-service
[4] http://www.energysavingwarehouse.co.uk/news/266/20/New-Green-Deal.html
