Earlier this year we started trialling ‘Energy Rights training sessions’ with the Kilburn Unemployed Workers’ Group and Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth.Now we’re holding 2 energy rights training session in London in the coming weeks.
-with the Hackney Housing Group on Saturday 29th at 2pm, this session will also have Portugese translation.
-with the Bricklayers Residents & Tenants Group on Wednesday 3rd December
Email us if you want to join one of the workshops: [email protected]
Please note: The training with the Hackney Energy Coop and will take place in Homerton on Tuesday 18th at 7pm has now been CANCELLED.
Over the past 12 months we have been contacted consistently by people who are ‘in trouble’ with their energy supplier.
Common issues have included; people falling behind on bill payments, being threatened with bailiffs, receiving bills that look too high; being threatened with unwanted prepayment meter; people running out of money and being forced to self-disconnect and home break-ins by energy companies.
What has become clear is that whilst the numbers of us struggling to meet the costs of our electric and gas bills, many of us know very little about what is legal or what our (limited) rights when dealing with energy companies are.This leaves us disempowered and weak as often our lack of collective knowledge means we can’t challenge energy companies or force them to be a little less brutal towards us.
This lead us to write our own mini-guide on ‘energy rights‘ and we have also put together a workshop based on what we have learnt through going to workshops, reading useful handbooks and our own experience. We want to hold these in collaboration with other grassroots groups whose members would find them useful.
The workshop (can) include:
-how to read your meter
-what to do if a bill comes through looking too high
-ways to negotiate debt
-ways to avoid getting an unwanted prepayment meter; including once you are being taken to court
-ways to get debt written off and get other financial grants to pay towards a bill
-what steps we can collectively take to protect ourselves against energy company brutality
-we can also bring copies of our mini-guide and our Energy Rights cards