The energy industry has an image problem. A poll conducted by Populus found that 72 per cent of consumers believe energy companies act “like a cartel” and 83 per cent say the industry is “broken”. Against this backdrop of discontent, Ed Miliband’s energy price freeze makes perfect political sense.
We founded The Big Deal to broker a new accord between suppliers and consumers. We do this through collective switching – a favourite initiative of the energy secretary. Ed Davey is one of thousands who have signed up to our campaign.
A collective switch empowers people to get a better deal by bargaining together. Equally important, it gives them a powerful voice. By listening to that voice, energy suppliers can rebuild their relationship with the British public. To start, they should create a new tariff in response to a collective switching campaign. For although the retail market regulations explicitly provide for such a move, companies have never created such a tariff. This is odd, because a collective switch offers a financial fillip to any company, especially when they mobilise people who do not usually change energy provider.
The energy market is complicated. What seems straightforward is that when large groups of people promise their custom in return for a slightly better deal, companies should compete for that market share.
If the big six refuse to compete or to create tariffs for collective switches, the UK public has every right to feel exasperated.