Robin Hood Energy is celebrating its first year of savings for energy customers.
The company was launched on the 7th September 2015 and is the first local authority owned energy supplier on the market. Set up by Nottingham City Council, Robin Hood Energy has made it its mission to tackle fuel poverty, not only in Nottingham but across the UK.
The East Midlands in particular is reaping the benefits of having a local authority owned energy supplier. In June 2016 the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) released a report demonstrating that the average tariff in the East Midlands has decreased by £87 a year since Nottingham City Council entered the market last September.
Cllr Alan Clark, Nottingham City Council’s portfolio holder for Energy and Sustainability, said “When we set up Robin Hood Energy our mission was to tackle fuel poverty and create an energy company committed to putting customers first. It’s now a year after launch and we’re seeing not only significant price decreases across the region but real improvements in the lives of customers who’ve saved with us.
“Robin Hood Energy is proof that public sector owned energy is both possible to implement and positive for the people it supplies.”
Unlike a lot of the larger suppliers, Robin Hood Energy is committed to supporting prepayment customers who are often fuel poor and vulnerable. At its launch in November 2015 Robin Hood Energy’s Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) tariff was one of the first competitive prepayment tariffs in the country. With this year’s roll-out of smart meters for PAYG customers, Robin Hood Energy hopes to have an even bigger role in reducing fuel costs across the country.
As Robin Hood Energy begins a second year of operation its ambition is to support other councils across the UK into the energy market where they can make similar fuel cost reductions for their communities. Robin Hood Energy is proud to be leading a growing movement of council-run energy suppliers who are determined to put the energy customer back at the heart of energy supply.