Southend Energy hits 100 customer mark in just 10 days

June 11, 2015 by Southend Borough Council

Southend Energy hits 100 customer mark in just 10 days

Thursday 11th June 2015

Southend Energy, Southend-on-Sea Council’s new energy supply, signed up its 100th customer this week – just ten days after it was launched.

The landmark was passed when Mr Douglas Pitcher, 54, from Shoeburyness switched to the new service, which aims to offer one of the most competitive tariffs in the region.

To mark the occasion, Mr Douglas Pitcher will be presented with a hamper by Cllr Longley (time and date tbc).

Mr Pitcher said: “I found out about Southend Energy from my parents who had seen it in the local paper. It was very easy to switch, I spoke to a nice lady in the customer service centre who gave me all details I needed. It turned out I could save £84 over the year. I was previously with E.ON and had been ever since I moved in to my current house 3 years ago.”

So far, the new service has saved Southend residents an average of £239 each (see note 1), which is cumulatively an approximate £23,900; the same amount as an average wage in Southend-on-Sea (see note 2).

Southend Energy, set up in partnership with OVO Energy, opened for business on May 28th with tariffs which aim to offer a fair energy deal over the bigger energy firms.

The Southend Energy service is available to people living within the Southend-on-Sea Borough Council boundaries.

Cllr Graham Longley, Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism and Economic Development said: “The new scheme has got off to a great start. Importantly, it is helping people who need it most – those who have been paying too much for their energy but have never switched.

“Switching is easy and we’ll be offering fair energy tariffs, fair contracts and fair treatment. There will be no exit charges , and through our partnership with OVO will add a 3% Interest Reward on to all credit balances. We will also and we will give customers plenty of reminders about when their first-year contract is up for renewal so they can search the market for a better deal if they choose.”

"Our decision to partner with OVO is reinforced by their consistently market-leading customer-service record and the supplier recently being awarded Supplier of the Year in the uSwitch Energy Awards 2014.”

• A choice of four tariffs; Southend Energy Fixed, Southend Energy Variable, Southend Energy Greener (100% renewable energy – see note 3) and Southend Energy PAYG (see note 4)
• Potential average savings of £224 and £168 a year respectively on the Fixed and Greener tariffs (see note 5)
• No exit fees (see note 6)
• 3 per cent Interest Reward paid on all credit balances, up to £1,000 (see note 7);
• Award-winning customer service through the partnership with OVO, Supplier of the Year in the uSwitch Energy Awards 2014

To find out how much you can save and how to switch, please go to www.southendenergy.co.uk or call 0800 408 6711.