We are pleased to announce that, along with our supply partner Robin Hood Energy, we will be participating in the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme this winter and will be able to offer the WHD credit to customers that are in the scheme’s ‘Core Group’. These are customers who receive the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension Credit. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will provide us with the details of those of our customers who are registered for the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension Credit and we will process that information as soon as we receive it.

Core Group credit customers will have the payment automatically applied to their account and it will be shown as credit on their bill or statement.

Core Group SMART Pay as You Go metered customers will have their meter credited automatically.

Core Group traditional Pay As You Go metered customers will receive a top up voucher which can be redeemed for a Pay As You Go Meter credit at the local Post Office.

Ebico CEO, Phil Levermore, said, “We’re delighted to be participating in the Warm Home Discount Scheme this year. Ebico was set-up 20 years ago to tackle fuel poverty in Britain, and the WHD payments will provide much-needed help to many financially vulnerable homes this winter.”

Ebico has been awarded Ethical Consumer’s ‘Best Buy’ label after achieving top-marks in the ethical magazine’s annual rating. Ebico received its Best Buy accreditation for being a socially ethical electricity & gas company and as a result of our non-profit status and fair pricing structure.
We are very proud of becoming a Best Buy Label holder as it demonstrates that our efforts to provide affordable energy and to provide help to those in fuel poverty are recognised.

The Mark, below, alongside the Social Enterprise Mark, provides our customers with reassurance that they are purchasing their energy from an ethical energy company.

By joining Ebico, all our customers join with us in the fight against fuel poverty in Britain. You can find out more about the great work that Ebico Trust-supported projects do here.

With a 0 p/kWh off-peak (i.e. overnight) electricity rate, Ebico’s new Night Owl smart energy plan offers a great deal to households who use Economy 7 off-peak power to charge their night storage heaters.

Ebico CEO, Phil Levermore, explained:
“For households without a mains gas supply, night storage heaters can be a convenient way of heating the home. In practice, however, winter fuel bills with this form of heating can come as a nasty shock – particularly if it turns-out to be a very cold winter. As a result, electrically-heated homes are 70% more likely to be in fuel poverty, and that fuel poverty to be 70% deeper, than homes heated with mains gas¹. Night Owl offers winter peace of mind to households using E7 heaters. With an overnight electricity rate of zero pence per kilowatt-hour, night storage units can be charged as much as necessary at no marginal cost.”

He continued:
“Nineteen years ago, as Britain’s first not-for-profit energy provider dedicated to tackling fuel poverty, we were the first company to charge our prepayment-metered customers the same as our credit customers – and so helped bring an end to higher charges for prepay customers, nationally. We launched the first energy plan with a zero standing-charge, so our customers only had to pay for the electricity and gas they used. Continuing our commitment to affordable warmth and utilising the flexibility that smart metering now gives us, we’re launching Night Owl, the first smart energy plan to offer a zero-priced night-time electricity rate to homes with Economy 7 heating.”

Click here to find out more about the Ebico Night Owl energy plan.

1 Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report, 2017. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

The good news for EquiGas and EquiPower credit customers is that, following the recent price increase announcement by SSE, Ebico Zero remains at least 4.5% cheaper than EquiGas and is now at least 19% cheaper than EquiPower – and price-guaranteed until at least December 2017. Customers can save even more if they opt to pay by Direct Debit.¹

For pay-as-you-go customers, our new Ebico PrePay energy plan, with a standing charge of 25p per day per fuel, is 8.5% cheaper than EquiGas / EquiPower for a customer with an average² level of household energy use, and is also price-guaranteed until December 2017.

So, switch to Ebico Zero or Ebico PrePay – with both price-guaranteed until at least December 2017.

¹ 5.5% cheaper for those paying by Direct Debit
² Average savings in comparison to Dual Fuel customers on Equigas and EquiPower, and based on ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCVs) for medium user of 3,100 kWh for electricity and 12,500 kWh for gas.

SSE has now closed EquiGas/EquiPower to new sales and tariff will be coming to an end. Consequently, our partnership with SSE has ended. However, we are delighted to announce the launch of Ebico Zero with our new supply partner, Robin Hood Energy. With Ebico Zero, the zero standing charge aspect of EquiGas/EquiPower will continue, which we know is so important to very many of our customers.

The great news for our customers is that, in addition to keeping the zero standing charge, Ebico Zero is at least 4.5% cheaper than EquiGas / EquiPower tariff and price-guaranteed until at least December 2017.

Customers can save even more if they opt to pay by Direct Debit.¹

Ebico Zero, available to our credit customers, is offered alongside our new Ebico PrePay energy plan. Ebico PrePay, with a standing charge of 25p per day per fuel, is 8.5% cheaper than EquiGas / EquiPower for a customer with an average² level of household energy use, is also price-guaranteed until December 2017, and is exclusive to pay-as-you-go customers.

We are confident that our new energy supply partnership with Robin Hood Energy gives us a strong base from which to advance our campaign to tackle fuel poverty.

¹ 5.5% cheaper for those paying by Direct Debit
² Average savings in comparison to Dual Fuel customers on Equigas and EquiPower, and based on ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCVs) for medium user of 3,100 kWh for electricity and 12,500 kWh for gas.

[FAQ_Category category_slug=”rhe-transition-faqs”]

• Minister for Energy and Industry, Jesse Norman MP says: “It’s good to see Ebico and Robin Hood Energy working together.”
• Shadow Energy Minister, Alan Whitehead MP says: “This is a match made in heaven”
• Ebico and Robin Hood Energy launch Ebico PrePay at a discount to existing tariffs
• Not-for-profit partnership will spend surpluses on fuel poverty projects around Britain
• To date, Ebico has invested £1.3million in fuel poverty projects around Britain

Ebico and Robin Hood Energy have today unveiled a new energy partnership to offer a brand new prepay tariff, as they vow to continue their fight against rising fuel poverty in the UK and provide energy contracts that function fairly for all consumers.

The partnership will offer the brand new tariff:  Ebico PrePay, which offers customers affordable energy and a flexible deal with no exit fees or tie-ins.

Minister for Energy and Industry, Jesse Norman MP said:  “Smart pre-payment is an important part of upgrading the UK’s energy system and helping people to save money. It’s good to see Ebico and Robin Hood Energy working together and using smart pre-payment to support their customers.”

Dr. Alan Whitehead, Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, said: “This is a match made in heaven – a not-for profit retailer linking up with a not-for profit energy supplier to provide highly competitive tariffs for the prepay sector who need those good tariffs more than anyone else. It’s also a challenge for those traditional energy retailers. Ebico and Robin Hood Energy are now making the weather on energy retailing – what are you going to do to catch up? All power to your elbows on this initiative – and keep it coming!”

The Ebico PrePay tariff, designed for prepay customers, offers un-rivalled flexibility, with no exit fee and a price guarantee until December 2017. The tariff is also 8.5%¹ less than Ebico’s existing prepay tariff, with the price guaranteed until at least December 2017.

Ebico was founded in part to offer a better deal to those using prepayment meters and the new partnership is designed to allow them to offer a new alternative to this section of the market, which is often used by the fuel poor.

The new partnership with RHE will allow the company to continue on its founding mission, one which has already seen over £1.3million donated to fuel poverty charities and projects across the UK.

Customers switching to Ebico PrePay, and looking for the convenience of topping-up their meter credit from their mobile phone, can register to have their meter replaced, for free, with a smart pay-as-you-go meter this year.²

Ebico is rated as the top-3 energy suppliers in the UK by Which? in its 2017 survey. The company is highly commended for its superior customer service and is the fastest to pick up the phone to customers.

Ebico will continue to provide its current EquiGas and EquiPower tariffs, supplied by SSE.

Phil Levermore, CEO of Ebico, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce this partnership which will help our customers and our continuing fight against fuel poverty in the UK. We see this as a new way of providing energy – an affordable, flexible tariff with a founding ambition to make society a better, fairer place. Robin Hood Energy shares our ethics and our philosophy and we are resolute in our aim of helping to irradiate fuel poverty in the UK. At a time of rising energy prices, this partnership guarantees to fix prices until at least December and will always do what is in the best interest of our customers.”

Councillor Alan Clark, Chair of the RHE Board, said: “This partnership is a real meeting of minds. Ebico and RHE are both committed to providing a low cost, flexible tariff to our customers and using any surplus we have to fight fuel poverty across the country. This partnership should send the message to the rest of the industry, government and our consumers – there is a different and better way of doing business in the energy sector. RHE, as the first council owned supplier, and Ebico as the UK’s first not-for-profit energy company are at the forefront of what we hope will become a new movement in the UK energy market.”

Robert Courts MP for Witney: “The partnership between Ebico and Robin Hood Energy is a fantastic example of a local business here in West Oxfordshire, expanding and offering an innovative solution to a national problem.  Ebico was founded to fight fuel poverty and I am delighted that this partnership will allow them to continue this important work.  This partnership is a welcome display of innovative thinking that puts customers first.  I am proud that Ebico are based in West Oxfordshire and wish them well with their work.”

Callum McCaig MP, SNP Spokesperson on Energy: “No consumer should be paying more than they have to for energy costs, and whilst work has been done to regulate cheaper tariffs for direct-debit customers, there has definitely been a gap left for those on costly pre-payment meters. The efforts of Ebico and Robin Hood Energy are an encouraging start to tackle fuel poverty, and it is good to see the companies themselves taking the initiative on this issue. Hopefully this may be the start of working toward a future where those individuals who are not able to secure a direct-debit agreement are not then penalised and discriminated against with higher charges, as we should never expect the least well off in our society to foot the highest bills.”

Joanne Wade, CEO of Association for the Conservation of Energy, said: “We welcome the news that Ebico and Robin Hood Energy are working together to reduce the price of energy for some of the households who most need lower bills; we urge them to also help their customers to manage their energy use and invest in home energy efficiency.”

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[1] Average savings in comparison to Dual Fuel customers on Equigas and EquiPower, and based on ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCVs) for medium user of 3,100 kWh for electricity and 12,500 kWh for gas.
[2] Fitting subject to successful survey and installation date subject to operational constraints.