Consider switching to Ecotricity. This company does not make its ‘green energy’ from burning carcasses of abattoir animals, and is also makes gas from grass! Founder Dale Vince owns EcoTalk, a phone company powered by green energy that uses profits to buy land to conserve it for birds and native mammals. Dale is an eco-vegan loudmouth! who is calling for a halt on deep-sea mining to protect seagrass meadows (essential for sea turtles and sea horses). Also read the post on energy-saving kettles (old-style kettles use a lot of energy, for a nation that drinks as much tea as we do!)
It’s not safe to advise people to ‘turn down the thermostat’ to reduce energy bills (could cause hypothermia for people & pets). Instead, use oil-powered radiators (safer than fan heaters), Radfan (a radiator booster), and take the quiz at Carbon Savvy to reduce carbon footprint (can save a fortune on bills for old uninsulated homes).
join the Big Energy Credit Claim Back
The Big Energy Credit Claim Back is a nationwide campaign to help households reclaim unused energy credit from the big energy suppliers. If you pay your bills by direct debit, you are legally allowed to claim back credit that you have may have overpaid the last year.
Whichever company you are presently registered with, you should ensure you take accurate meter readings (most companies can help, if need be). If you pay by direct debit, don’t cancel it but instead you can take back owed credit that is sitting in their bank accounts (earning colossal amounts of interest) and although there may be a temporary increase in funds, you can then get back all you are owed after the next winter.
The industry regulator Ofgem says energy companies must by law return credit owed to you, within two weeks. If you switch energy suppliers, the old company still must refund remaining credit (if not, you can legally file a complaint). For bereavements, as well as the account and meter readings, you will also need a copy of the death certificate, alongside details of family members of executors of the person’s Will.
The organisation Warm This Winter has researched how each company compiles their stats, so you know how to claim from each company. People’s energy bills are soaring, and it’s not (as MPs often claim) due to the price of oil due to the Russian/Ukraine war. We should by now be oil-free, it’s perfectly possible to insulate all homes (and new green homes like straw bale and Passivhaus don’t even need insulation). A third of all people in England (mostly elderly people and those on benefits) struggle to heat their homes.
Meanwhile, the big private energy companies take billions in profits. The upcoming (likely Labour) government is planning to put a tax to help pay for their renewable energy ideas, but in truth likely won’t go far enough (the Greens won’t gain power, but would spend money insulating all homes in England, which would provide jobs and drastically bring down people’s bills immediately, as well as offering safe, warm and green homes).
But for now, we have to do what we can as individuals. Obviously using common sense measures to save energy is one (but ‘turning down the heating by one degree’ could give some vulnerable people hypothermia).
The campaign to claim back unused credit could see 12,000 households reclaim a combined £3 billion of credit, which is presently sitting in the banks of the big energy companies, from people who pay in advance by direct debit. A third of energy accounts are ‘in the black’ (not in debt) so this money is sitting in the banks earning interest, while household struggle with their bills.
Low-income households may have been charged too much on their direct debits, leaving them to struggle to make ends meet. With huge sums being earned in interest by energy firms, the least they can do is make sure that interest is paid back to consumers, or used to cancel energy debt of those most in need. End Fuel Poverty Coalition
Claiming back cash we’ve been overcharged is a simple way for busy people to show energy companies they are sick of this broken system. That’s why thousands upon thousands of us are coming together to move millions of pounds from those companies, back into the pockets of hardworking people. 38 Degrees
do wind turbines harm birds & bats?
The London School of Economics says over 100,000 birds a year could be killed due to wind turbines. So in a country that gets most energy from wind, experts say good ideas are to place turbines further apart, paint one blade (and wind towers) black so birds can see them and install manmade islands to provide breeding habitats for seabirds. Building roads to offshore parks is also harmful, which is why Ecotricity tends to place turbines in urban areas. New bladeless turbines (like tall vibrating wands) claim to be bird-friendly.
Ecotricity is focusing on bifacial solar panels, which make electricity from undersides by light reflected off the ground, so need less sun to work. Solar energy works more by daylight than sunlight, so unless you live in Scandinavia (plunged into darkness for winter), this is hopeful.
is it worth buying a new boiler?
Experts say new boilers save up to 30% in gas so pay back is around 5/6 years on a cost of around £2000 (and should add value to your property. But a third of people can’t afford this, so look for grants. You only need a new boiler if the existing one is faulty or over 10 years old (otherwise just go for repair). But new ones offer a 10-year guarantee, so thet payback is usually (slightly) worth it.
The recent scrapping of Net Zero targets meant that Chris Packham is taking the government to court, backed by climate change expert. The claim that ‘not everyone can afford to rip out their old boiler to install a heat pump’ is misleading, as actually that is not what the target is asking for. Also read the post on how to affordably insulate your home.
why we no longer need coal or tin mines
Years ago, mining was an important (albeit dangerous) profession, where workers would travel underground to collect tin and coal, in order to provide fuel and construction materials. However all climate change experts now say that likely one of the best ways to help make things better for our planet is to stop the use of fossil fuels. The easiest way for us to do this is to simply switch to companies like Ecotricity for our electricity & gas bills (this company does not burn abattoir waste to generate electricity, and makes gas from grass!) It also offers business and charity tariff options. It also does not support fracking (making gas by drilling into the ground, which in some cases can cause cancer and taps even have fire coming out of them, instead of water).
Yet in 2024, there are still plans to build a new coal mine, which will decimate the local nature and wildlife of Cumbria. Friends of the Earth are taking the government to talk over the plan, which goes against everything planned to stop climate change. Due to be built at Whitehaven on the coast, there was so much opposition that the planning decision instead went to government, which Michael Gove MP approved. Now that Labour is in power, it’s interesting to see what they will do, as the party is often in hock to big unions who tend to be pro-mining. South Lakes Action on Climate Change are hoping that the new government will put the planet and local wildlife first. Ed Miliband was opposed to the mine and is now environment secretary, so here’s hoping. It does look like the new government is now saying the approval was unlawful.
Friends of the Earth say that the local land would be contaminated as well as local sea life impacted, and we don’t even need coal anymore. The claim that the mine would provide much-needed jobs is debunked by the fact that more jobs could be created by investing in more clean energy, and insulating all of England’s homes.