Sainsbury's customers can top up their weekly grocery shop with one-off purchases such as Solar Panels, to help them generate their own energy at home.
- British Gas and Sainsbury's bring microgeneration technologies, energy deals and advice to the high street.
- New five-year partnership, ‘Sainsbury's Energy', to help customers future-proof their homes and keep their bills down.
From today, Sainsbury's customers can top up their weekly grocery shop with one-off purchases such as Solar Panels, to help them generate their own energy at home.
Sainsbury's Energy, in partnership with British Gas, will offer customers access to new energy technologies, energy deals, information, and energy saving advice in a place that's convenient for them with trained energy experts also available in selected stores.
This ground-breaking partnership sees two of Britain's leading companies working together to help British households get the right information about how they can produce and manage their energy now and in the years ahead.
Despite having some of the lowest energy prices in Western Europe, British homes have some of the highest bills because of a lack of energy efficiency measures, such as insulation, and because of low take-up of new energy technologies like solar panels and ground source heat source pumps.
Recent surveys have shown that 87% of British consumers don't know what microgeneration technologies are, and 80% don't know where to go to buy them.
Sainsbury's Energy aims to tackle these problems by providing easy access to energy products, information and advice.
Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King, said: "Sainsbury's has a long history of helping customers save money without compromising on quality. With the launch of the new Sainsbury's Energy, we plan to continue with this heritage.
"Our ambition is for Sainsbury's Energy to become the number one destination for customers looking for new energy technologies, energy efficiency measures and great energy deals, so we can help them to reduce costs, while also reducing carbon emissions."
Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas, said: "We know people are worried about rising energy costs, but higher prices don't have to mean higher bills. Energy efficiency and energy generation in the home are the keys to keeping bills down, but people need more help to take advantage of them. This is why British Gas is delighted to be back on the ‘high street' with Sainsbury's, making it easier for customers to get the products, information and advice they need."
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said: "Being smart about energy use is a no brainer, it reduces bills and cuts carbon, so I am pleased Sainsbury's and British Gas are bringing energy efficiency and green power to the high street. This new partnership is the sort of collaboration we want to see under the Government's Green Deal to stimulate green growth and kick start a radical and urgent increase in home energy efficiency."
Sainsbury's Energy, in partnership with British Gas, is now available to customers in Sainsbury's stores across the UK, online at http://www.sainsburysenergy.com/ and via the dedicated Sainsbury's Energy call centre on freephone 0333 202 9816.
To start with, Sainsbury's Energy customers will have access to the following:
- Gas and electricity, with a great Nectar offer including 10,000 points in the first year
- Competitively priced Insulation (including loft insulation, which can save the average household around £145 each year)
- Solar Panels
- Home Energy Assessments (tailored energy savings reports for customers based on their individual homes, energy usage and domestic appliances)
From today, specially-trained Sainsbury's Energy Experts will be available in selected stores and working in hundreds of stores across the country by the end of the year.
And, this year, a Sainsbury's Energy roadshow will tour Sainsbury's supermarkets up and down the country with a fully interactive energy display truck where customers can talk to experts and see new home energy generation technologies in action.
Notes to Editors
Sainsbury's Energy is a landmark new partnership between Sainsbury's and British Gas to bring microgeneration technologies, such as solar panels, to the forefront of people's minds and helping explain how people can generate their own energy
Installing average sized solar panels (1.4kw) to generate electricity would leave householders an average £600-a-year better off, largely due to ‘Feed in Tariffs' which offer:
- A payment for all the electricity you produce, even if you use it yourself
- Additional bonus payments for electricity you are deemed to have exported into the grid
- A reduction on your standard electricity bill, from using energy you produce yourself (based on a like for like usage).
In addition to the technology available, Sainsbury's Energy experts will also be on hand to provide advice on how to reduce energy through simple, often free measures
A recent report by Cebr (Centre for Economics and Business Research), the British Gas Home Energy Report 2011, which analysed more than 40 million British Gas meter readings, showed that homes that have taken advantage of energy efficiency measures have cut their energy use by an average 44% and their gas bills by £322
The formation of the new partnership follows feedback from British Gas customers, which showed that 60% wanted to see British Gas once again have a presence on the high street. It also follows recommendations by the British Gas customer panel that British Gas should lead the way in helping customers lower their energy use with energy efficiency and home energy generation
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Felicity Callaghan