Hull council sets up energy collective to cut bills

Residents and businesses in Hull are being offered the chance to reduce their energy bills by joining a collective switching scheme.

Hull City Council said it hoped to save households up to £250 a year.

People have until 17 December to sign up for the scheme. An "auction" will then be held with energy providers, with the lowest bid winning.

Collective switching allows groups of customers to choose the best rate by changing tariff at the same time.

The system was pioneered in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Councillor Stephen Brady, leader of the Labour-run council, said: "I want people to keep warm and be able to afford to keep warm and at the moment there's a lot of people suffering in Hull, suffering with being cold, suffering because they haven't got jobs.

"We have got to try and alleviate that suffering as much as we can."