The Energy Retail Organisation

Web address: http://www.energy-retail.org.uk/

Their mission statement is:

“ERA’s mission is to serve the best interest of suppliers and customers alike in Britain’s dynamic and competitive energy market.”

The energy retail organisation was founded in 2003 are a body that exist to protect domestic gas and electricity suppliers in the United Kingdom.

They exist to promote good customer service for all energy suppliers and to help them tackle fuel poverty, protect vulnerable customers, promote energy efficiency practices, to make sure that they follow good sales practices and to try to reduce customer debt and disconnections.

In addition to this they help members to provide easy methods for customers to change suppliers and to provide good industry standards for billing.

One of the main focuses of the organisation at the moment is the promotion of “Smart Meters”
This technology will enable two way communications between customer and supplier, with the ability to measure and monitor bills for both gas and electricity.

This will involve the biggest home visit ever carried out in Britain to roll out around 45 million new smart meters.

They are also active in supporting the government’s incentive schemes to promote renewable generation and carbon reduction.  The focus is shifting from merely selling energy to providing a complete energy supply, conservation and carbon reduction package.

Their website includes a series of useful suggestions about saving energy, some that can be adopted immediately and others that will involves various levels of investment.  Such suggestions as only boiling as much water as you are going to use, turning off lights in empty rooms, moving to more involved schemes like adding extra loft insulation,