End in sight for winter energy woes: first dual fuel deal under £900 for two years

Challenger energy company, First Utility (www.first-utility.com), the UK’s first smart meter energy supplier, has today announced the first energy price reductions of 2010 with new tariff iSaveV2, which makes First Utility the cheapest energy supplier in the country.

The price reductions mean that, for the first time in almost two years, the average cost of an annual residential energy bill in the UK with first:utility is less than £900, at £898.

Customers on the new iSaveV2 tariff will be offered the option to get a free smart meter installed in the coming months as First Utility continues its free roll-out of smart meters across UK households. The company is currently installing free smart meters for Midlands and East Midlands customers, and will announce the next phase of the roll-out in the coming weeks. In the meantime, customers will be incentivised to submit regular meter readings online, with financial rewards for doing so; they will also receive monthly bills – the benefits being more control for the customer as they will have an accurate bill and greater knowledge of their monthly energy spend, instead of waiting for a quarterly bill (which is often an inaccurate estimate).

Mark Daeche, CEO of First Utility said: “We hope this will come as welcome news to the millions of people who are concerned about the increased cost of heating their homes during this recent spell of cold weather. We want to demonstrate that we are on the consumer’s side, and that we offer a real alternative for people looking for better ways of having their energy supplied, by providing accurate bills, greater visibility of usage and more modern technology which will keep bills low, not just now but in the long term.”

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Notes to Editors

About First Utility

First Utility is the smarter independent utilities supplier, offering electricity and gas services to a range of consumer and business customers. It is the only energy provider to roll out smart meters for free to all its customers, starting with the East and West Midlands. It is through the use of smart metering technology that First Utility can empower consumers to manage their own energy consumption and bills. First Utility is headquartered in Warwick.
www.first-utility.com

About iSaveV2 tariff

•    This is an online tariff only and consumers can register via first-utility.com or through a switching site.
•    Monthly online billing only
•    iSave customers will be eligible to receive a dual fuel discount of 12.5% after one year of consecutive direct debit payments.
•    A further £20 reward is given at the end of the first 12 months based on the customer submitting at least one meter reading per quarter

About smart meters

First Utility’s smart meters take automated readings of energy consumption at half-hourly intervals throughout the day; this information is sent wirelessly to First Utility’s Warwick-based head office.  As a result of this up-to-date information, accurate monthly bills showing combined gas and electricity usage and cost are generated, meaning First Utility customers never receive estimated readings and there are no more surprise ‘reconciliation’ bills. The data from the smart meters also enables customers to view a detailed breakdown of their energy usage online or via iGoogle, with Google PowerMeter.

The Government recently announced its plans for a national roll-out of smart meters by 2020. But why wait ten years? Smart meters revolutionise the way in which people manage their energy consumption by enabling greater control; research has shown that they can reduce energy usage by 10%.

For further media information please contact:

Rachel Brewin: 01869 2380809 / 07879 997886 /rachelbrewin@cubaneight.com

Sian Gaskell: 01869 2380809 / 07879 997885 / siangaskell@cubaneight.com