Last updated at 16:28, Tuesday, 15 January 2013

ONE of the winners from the first round of a groundbreaking energy switching scheme has praised the council for helping her save money.

With the Power Up Your Community initiative relaunching yesterday, one Barrow resident who has benefited from the pilot run welcomed its return.

The scheme, run by South Lakeland District Council, allows people from all over the country to register to see if they could save money on their energy bills.

After reading about it in the Evening Mail, Joyce Herron put her name down and ended up saving around £120.

She said: “I was quite willing to sign up really – anything that saves you money has got to be a good thing.

“There were no problems at all.

“I just had to send details of my current supplier and left it with them.”

The scheme uses bulk purchasing power to negotiate cheaper energy deals on behalf of its customers.

Mrs Herron, 71, of Yarlside Road, said she would recommend the scheme.

She said: “I just phoned SLDC and they sent me all the details.

“It all went quite smoothly, really.”

One advantage of the scheme is that customers who do not use the internet are still able to register over the phone or by visiting the council offices in Ulverston, Windermere or Kendal.

During the registration period, in August and September last year, more than 1,600 people signed up.

Following the auction, where energy suppliers bid for the contract, the cheapest deal was made available to all who registered – with 517 people taking up the offer.

This time around, the registration period will run until February 25 and the auction will take place the following day.

For more information, visit www.southlakeland.gov.uk or call 0845 050 4434.

First published at 16:24, Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk