Thursday 4 June saw the launch of a new energy supply company for North East England – with a promise to save households up to £300 a year.
Newcastle-based Future Energy will challenge the ‘Big Six’ energy supply companies head-on by offering transparent and fair pricing and bills that are easy to understand.
The company – which was formally launched on 4 June to regional business figures at an event at the North of England Institute of Mining – is the brainchild of North East entrepreneur Tim Cantle-Jones, 54, who said: “Our research shows that the average household in our region is paying as much as ten to 15 per cent more than it should for its gas and electricity.”
At the heart of Future Energy’s business model is challenging the inefficiencies of the Big Six: “They have systems in place that are bloated and inefficient, whereas we will be a lean and efficient operation with low overheads.”
Next year, Future energy plans to supply its customers with so-called smart meters to enable them to know at all times how much power they are using and what it is costing them. Future Energy has been at the forefront of training the new generation of meter installers to help meet government targets for every home to have a smart meter by 2020.
Future Energy – which will be the first power supply company to be based in the North East since the days of Northern Electric – aims to have signed up 6-8,000 households by the end of November.
“Our target is to sign up 1,000 customers a month in the first instance and we believe this is achievable. We hope to have signed up 80,000 to 100,000 customers in the region within three years.”
Future Energy will open for business in July at premises on Amethyst Road, Newcastle Business Park, where it will initially create about 20 new jobs.
“This will be a local company for local people and a percentage of all profits will be ploughed back into local charities,” said Tim, who brings to bear experience gained in a variety of entrepreneurial roles in the North East and nationally throughout his career. Future Energy marks the culmination of three years’ development work, prior to which Tim was involved in the delivery of neighbourhood energy-saving schemes and low-energy lighting solutions.
Future Energy will start switching customers from their existing suppliers in July but intending customers can pre-register via the website http://futureenergysupply.co.uk now.