|
ISHERWOOD: AM CONCERNED CONSUMERS IN WALES ARE MISSING OUT ON BEST DEALS ON GAS AND ELECTRICITY |
| Print | |
|
www.markisherwood.com
January 29th 2011
A NORTH Wales Assembly Member is concerned people in Wales are not getting the best deal for their gas and electricity with many having never switched supplier.
Mark Isherwood, who is Chair of the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty, has called on the Welsh Government to address the problem of very low switch rates in Wales.
Raising the matter in the Assembly Chamber with the Minister for Environment this week, Mr Isherwood, referred to Ofgem’s proposals which should help consumers, particularly the most vulnerable customers who stand to gain most, to find the best energy deal, but asked what further action the Welsh Government can take to address the problem.
He said: “I think that Ofgem said that, across the UK, almost 60% of people said that they had never switched providers and the number of less active customers is growing. However, we know that there is a particular issue with Wales having particularly low switch rates.”
Mr Isherwood added: “The current tariff complexity is a major contributing factor to the low switch rates. The Office of Fair Trading 2010 study identified around 400 different tariffs and that complex domestic pricing was encountered more in gas and electricity supply than any other sector studied.”
Environment Minister, John Griffiths, replied: “I was very pleased to launch the Big Energy Week this week here in Cardiff because it is very much about raising awareness of these issues and encouraging consumers to seek appropriate advice, switch providers and take other steps to ensure that their energy bills are lower than they would otherwise be. We have various partners involved in that initiative and we will continue to work with them. Consumer Focus Wales did some interesting work on the relative level of switching in Wales compared with other parts of the UK and some of the factors behind that, so we are very keen to work with all sorts of organisations and ensure that Nest, as our primary advice giver, effectively refers and signposts people so that available help is forthcoming.”
ENDS
North Wales AM Mark Isherwood, Shadow Minister for North Wales, Communities and Housing
|