Green-minded Brits could be rewarded for switching utilities suppliers

A spate of recent studies have revealed that millions of British households are not only cutting back on their energy usage to combat the impact of the economic slowdown, but also in order to do their bit for the environment.

Now, it appears that conscientious consumers will be further rewarded for their environmental concerns with the launch of a new service aimed at delivering substantial savings for eco-friendly households that switch utilities suppliers.

While the new service being launched by Smartest Energy is currently only aimed at the business sector, it is surely a sign of the way the utilities market as a whole is moving, with private households set to receive similar advantages in the foreseeable future.

Under the scheme, businesses will be able to specify how much renewable energy they would like to be provided with and also from where their power is sourced. For example, a small manufacturing firm could state a preference for wind energy, though may choose to mix this up with some other source for economic reasons.

According to a report in Business Green, this would essentially mean that business customers "could effectively construct their own supply agreement, providing those companies that want to support renewable energy but cannot justify the price premium often associated with green tariffs with a way of minimising the premium while continuing to support the renewable energy sector".

Should the service prove a hit - and with the likes of Toyota and the Yorkshire Building Society already on board, it looks like this will be the case - it is expected that a similar scheme could be rolled out for consumers, spelling good news for those households keen to shop around and switch utilities suppliers in search of the best deal, though equally concerned about their carbon footprint.

Among the proposals put forward by the opposition are the introduction of smart meters in all UK homes, which will help to cut consumption and therefore utilities bills, as well as the speeding up of the introduction of feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, spelling good news for those Britons with solar panels or small wind turbines on their properties.