Plymouth Council: Energy Supplier in OVO Partnership

Ovo Energy is set to unveil a ground-breaking deal which could be the first of many, involving local councils across the country to become energy suppliers

Today at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Glasgow, a tie-up with Plymouth h council will be endorsed at announcement.

The deal is being seen as a way of helping consumers to have more of an opinion over their energy supplies.

Major energy retailers which are already facing stiffer competition than ever before will face further pressure from the new agreement.

Offering a tariff based on the energy firm’s minimum prices, Plymouth council will be teaming up with Ovo to attract new customers.

Since April when it announced its tie-up initiative, Ovo, which has established nearly 400,000 dual fuel customers, has been connecting with 200 organisations including local authorities, housing associations and community groups.

A dozen further deals are likely to be announced in the near future it is understood and others are set to follow later.

A profit margin of about 3 per cent is expected on the pioneering agreements by Ovo.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Ovo founder and managing director, has said that he believes the energy market could be transformed by the venture.

YouGov survey of more than 600 business leaders, commissioned by npower, showed 73 per cent of companies are concerned by the potential cost implications of the Government’s Contracts for Difference scheme.

The cost of low-carbon energy, such as offshore wind, is subsidised by the scheme.

The Government has been recently criticised by the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee for awarding contracts worth £16.6billion without any competition.

59 per cent of the business leaders think the Government’s energy policy does not reflect their needs, according to the survey.

Energy affordability is more important than security of supply is an opinion shared by 81 per cent of those questioned.

Shay Ramani