‘Dump the Big Six’ goes global
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The Big Six power companies have been confronted by a sudden backlash of campaigns after years of abusing their market dominance.
Three campaigns have been launched in the last week by consumer group Which?, liberal pressure group Compass and now green energy company Ecotricity all targeting the bad behaviour of the Big Six energy companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish & Southern, Scottish Power.behaviour of the Big Six energy companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish & Southern, Scottish Power.
Ecotricity’s ‘ Dump the Big Six’ online campaign featuring a film of Collapsing Cooling Towers with animated faces, has attracted over 1,300,000 views (and growing) on You Tube in just 5 days – and featured in the Top 5 films worldwide over the weekend.
The film is resonating with people online in the UK and around the world and has already been shown on television is the United States, to be followed by Norway, the Middle East and Latin America this week.East and Latin America this week.is the United States, to be followed by Norway, the Middle East and Latin America this week.
With 101 Conservative Party rebels mounting their own campaign to maintain the status quo – which in effect is the Big Six – Ecotricity founder Dale Vince believes now is the right moment for people to vote with their energy bills, ‘Dump the Big Six’ and bring the UK into a green energy future.
“For most of last year, and continuing quite unabated this year, the mood in our country has turned very much against the Big Six energy companies. And it’s not hard to see why.
“The interests of the Big Six energy companies are simply not aligned to the interests of the British people. They chase short-term profit and shareholder dividends – at almost any cost.
“People are fed up with the unethical pricing, awful customer service and the dire lack of investment in new sources of green energy.
“So we’ve launched a campaign called ‘Dump the Big Six’.
“As befits an organisation such as Ecotricity – it’s not a big budget TV campaign, but is taking place online, through digitally enabled People:Power.”
The online film features crumbling cooling towers as symbols of a passing era, of the old industrial approach to energy production – through burning fossil fuels. And the campaign itself is taking place in the (relatively) new world of social media, a place that enables and empowers people to come together, voice opinions and bring about change – in a way that has never been possible before. It’s digitally enabled democracy.
People:Power is at the heart of Ecotricity, it’s how the company works – empowering people to bring about change by using the power of their energy bills:
Firstly, Ecotricity have an ethical pricing policy – everyone gets the best price automatically – for many matching the standard tariff of the Big Six on their home turf.
Secondly, Ecotricity customers get the greenest outcome for their bill money – 82p in every £1 billed is reinvested in building new sources of Green Energy, more than 10 times the best of the Big Six could manage.
Thirdly, and no means least – Ecotricity have real customer service and care passionately about this – with a real person answering the phone and promises are kept – all basic stuff, but so long missing from the Big Six.
Vince continued: “People:Power can bring change to the energy sector – when people join us they vote with their energy bills. Together we can harness the energy bills of Britain and direct them to a proper outcome – the creation of a Green, energy independent Britain – a Green Britain.”
“It’s time we moved on and ‘Dumped the Big Six’ and the old way of doing things (they’re inseparable after all) and to instead be a part of a revolution.”
About Ecotricity
Britain’s leading green energy company, Ecotricity was founded over 15 years’ ago when, in 1996, it founded the UK’s green electricity market and movement. A ‘not for dividend’ company with no outside shareholders to answer to, it now powers over 58,000 homes and businesses in the UK from its fleet of 53 windmills and it invests more per capita in building new sources of green energy than any other UK electricity company.
For more information, please contact:Stuart Brennan, Ecotricity stuart.brennan@ecotricity.co.uk or (01453) 761318
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