North East Lincolnshire Council and Hull City Council have joined forces with 12 other councils to give householders the chance to save money on their gas and electricity bills.

Ready to Switch is a collective switching initiative that uses the combined buying power of residents to negotiate cheaper prices directly with energy companies.

So far Ready to Switch has seen thousands of households switch across the UK saving them hundreds of pounds.

Householders now have a further opportunity to register for free and with no obligation to accept their personal offer. All people need is their latest energy bill, contact details and information on how much energy they use. There are several ways to register:

• For people living in North East Lincolnshire, all you need to do is visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/readytoswitch and provide your contact details, the name of your supplier and details of your current energy usage and tariff. If you don’t have access to the internet, you could ask a friend or family member to register you (up to five separate addresses can be registered with the same email) or call 01472 324782 . Staff at your local library, Customer Access Point and Children’s Centre can also help if you don’t have internet access – but remember to bring a copy of a recent gas and electricity bill with you. There will also be a number of road show events where people can find out more. Details will be announced shortly.
   
• People living in Hull can visit www.hullcc.gov.uk/energyswitch, call 01482 300 300 or visit any Customer Service Centre to register.

The new scheme began on Tuesday 6 August and residents have until 15 October 2013 to register for the scheme which is open to all domestic customers.

Following the registration period an auction is held with energy providers to find out which one will bid the best price to supply energy to all the households that have signed up. Previous winners include British Gas and Scottish Power, producing yearly average savings of up to £126 per household.

Once the auction has taken place, residents are sent a personal offer based on their submitted energy usage. It is then up to householders if they accept or not – there’s no obligation.

Lisa Bovill, Welfare Rights Service Manager for Hull City Council, said: “If we purchase energy collectively, residents will get a better deal and that is why the Council is taking part in this collective energy switching scheme.

“Households that register for this scheme will see real benefits especially at a time of rising energy prices; it will make switching energy providers easy and most importantly save people a significant amount of money. I hope to see lots of households who missed the previous auctions to take advantage of this next round.

“This is one of the ways we are trying to help residents make their money go further, as part of Hull’s overall City Plan ambitions.”