Buy Electricity and Gas with carbon offset. QUALIFIES UNDER NEW DEFRA RULES.
Ethical gas and electricity at a reasonable price The Witney-based company, Ebico offers attractively priced gas and electricity. Current rates are | Gas | Electricity | 2.55p per kWh | 10.77p per kWH |
At first sight, these rates may not seem competitive. But Ebico has no standing charge or higher rate for the first units in a quarter. So, for example, although its unit rate for electricity is higher than British Gas (for a customer in the Southern Electric region), the absense of a standing charge means that for most customers, particularly those with smaller bills, the savings will be substantial. I calculate that a customer using 5,000 kWh a year in Oxfordshire will save over £65. The gas price will be, I believe, the lowest available for the average customer. (If I am wrong, please tell me at c.goodall@which.net) The important additional benefit from using Ebico is that you can 'offset' the emissions from your energy use. Unlike most offset schemes, Ebico does not plant some trees or hand out some lightbulbs. It purchases tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution permits from the European emissions trading scheme. If Ebico buy permits for a tonne of CO2, then the total supply of permits in the rest of the market is reduced. The total amount of carbon pollution created by firms that have to use permits must fall by the equivalent one tonne, if they are to avoid substantial fines. So if you pay Ebico to buy permits to cover your emissions, it will genuinely reduce carbon dioixide output somewhere else. The cost? It varies according to market conditions but for the average house, the price of offsetting all your yearly carbon dioxide from gas and electricity will be less than £70. The third benefit to customers of Ebico is that they are participating in an ethically-run company that charges customers with pre-payment meters the same price as customers paying quarterly in arrears. The tariffs for pre-payment meters are often extortionate, and Ebico's prices helps these customers, often among the less well-off, afford their gas and electricity. Learn more about Ebico here and sign up to its gas, electricity and carbon offset scheme here. The UK government has recently announced voluntary standards for carbon offsetting companies. Ebico is one of only four companies that currently qualify. More details here.
|
