Cyd Cymru Year 1 – a local authority perspective

Tara King, Assistant Director, City of Cardiff Council

Introduction• 3 year project – cooperative Councils approach• Funded by £180K Welsh Government Regional Collaboration Fund grant

• Key partners:– City of Cardiff Council– Vale of Glamorgan Council– Energy Saving Trust

• Governance:– Steering Group established – partners plus stakeholders from across Wales– Cardiff Partnership Board – quarterly progress reports – Welsh Government – quarterly progress reports and grant claim

• Year 1 successfully completed and evaluation undertaken to take learning forward

Project aims and objectives• To deliver a collective switching package across Wales with targeted focus

on Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan

• To reduce energy bills for people in Wales through collective buying of energy

• To reduce the number of people suffering from fuel poverty in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan-those in fuel and financial poverty targeted

• To communicate the benefit of collective energy buying

• To increase the volume of the switch year on year

Project targets• 3 year project targets:

– 15,000 people signing up to auction– 7,000 people signed up participating in final scheme– £800,000 saved across Wales– £120 average saving per household– 10% of participants implementing energy saving measures– 5% of participants implementing energy generation measures– 15% of households receiving savings that will take them out of fuel

poverty– 15% of households in vulnerable areas receiving savings that would

take them out of fuel poverty

Policy drivers• Welsh Government:

– Tackling poverty commitment- reducing poverty, especially persistent poverty– One Wales: One Planet – putting sustainable development at the heart of government– Well-being of Future Generations Bill – making sustainable development the central organising

principle of public bodies

• City of Cardiff Council:– Cardiff: What Matters –’ fair, just & inclusive society’ and ‘clean, attractive & sustainable

environment’– Embedded in Corporate Plan– One Planet Cardiff aspiration – ‘energy’, ‘place’ and ‘people’ elements– Affordable Warmth Strategy – people in Cardiff are able to affordably heat their homes

Benefits• Organisational benefits:

– Fit with corporate policy – Raises awareness of fuel poverty agenda– Increases financial inclusion – Profits from switches distributed into local communities– Galvanise communities to become more sustainable

• Benefits for households:– Savings on household bills– Builds knowledge and confidence in searching for the best deals– Opens door to further energy efficiency and energy generation measures

Year 1 activities• 2 switches undertaken – January and March 2014

• Communication and engagement plan developed– Face to face engagement – Posters and flyers– Dedicated website - www.cydcymru-energy.com – Social media– Press releases– Council publications – Internal staff communications– Getting partners on board to promote to their stakeholders

• Key audiences:– Residents of Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan– Targeting of groups who would benefit most from participation– Employees of both Councils

Year 1 outcomes

• Over 6,800 people registered interest in the scheme

• Over 1,500 switching to a new tariff deal

• £185 average saving per household

• Over £284,000 total savings for Wales

• £19,000 community fund generated for Wales

Year 2 plans• One switch – seeking to upscale size of switch

• Timings – Registration opens early January 2015– Switching window 2nd -16th March– Bonus switching week 16th – 23rd March

• Timed to coincide with colder weather • Will also coincide with switch 1 households coming to end of deal

• Want to get as many local authorities and partners within these to actively participate to increase volume of switchers

• Aim to get a large enough volume switch to generate a good unique tariff from energy companies