Barnsley residents ditch big six energy suppliers for 'trustworthy alternative'

The purpose of the council-backed scheme is to provide residents with a trustworthy alternative to the standard rate charges for gas and electricity offered by the ‘big six’ energy suppliers.

A total of 917 residents have switched over to the scheme, which offers ‘green' energy with power that is generated without producing carbon dioxide.

During a meeting of Barnsley Council, councillor Jake Lodge, who represents Worsbrough, questioned what measures the authority had taken to tackle fuel poverty at a full meeting of the council.

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Cabinet member, Coun Tim Cheetham, responded by saying wide ranging work was being done, such as increasing the energy efficiency of the council’s own housing, which is managed through Berneslai Homes.

He said the authority has also been involved in an organisation called Better Homes Yorkshire since 2015, with a programme that has helped to get 400 homes in the private sector equipped with new central heating boilers that help to reduce fuel use. The council is already experimenting with the use of heat pumps which extract warmth from the atmosphere as an alternative to burning gas – like a fridge in reverse – and is also involved in a project which could see heat extracted from the water of flooded mine workings in future.