Energy News

‘Free’ energy saving light bulbs add £45 to energy bills

Thursday, 22 March 2010

By Daniel Barnes- daniel@consumerchoices.co.uk

Energy efficiency measures to save customers money are hitting energy bills

Energy saving light bulbs that were sent free to millions of homes were really paid for with higher bills.

A total of 182 million energy saving light bulbs were sent to homes and given out free with newspapers in 2009 as part of the ‘big six’ energy providers’ plans to meet the government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT).

A study by consumer group Which? found the cost of CERT is now adding £45 to every home’s energy bills.

Which? senior policy advisor Fiona Cochrane said: “We all pay for CERT – the average household puts in £45 a year through their bills.

“So we need to be confident that we’re getting value for money, and the scheme is structured in a way to deliver energy saving measures that benefit consumers, not energy suppliers.”

Which? claims the energy firms should instead by using funds to cover CERT to improve insulation.

The cost of sending out the bulbs stands at £5.46 per household.

The cost of sending bulbs to 345 homes would have covered 20% of the cost of solid wall insulation for a home.

Bulbs produce savings of £14 a year, but the insulation saves £420 on gas bills, Which? reports.

Chris Eagle, commercial manager at Energychoices.co.uk, said: “If you want to save money on your energy bills, there are plenty of government and energy company schemes around to help cut the cost.

“Help is targeted at more vulnerable households, but money off insulation or boilers are available widely. Simple DIY measures such as loft insulation can make a real difference to the cost of heating your home.”