QR codes to reduce your energy bills
Source: Trillion Fund / Words by: Rebbecca Cooke
Since the advent of smart phones, they have been used to simplify all kinds of transactions from paying for your weekly shopping to watching films on your commute. But new plans outlined by the Government could mean that UK consumers will be able to compare their energy bills using their smart phones to see if they could be getting a better deal elsewhere.
Ed Davey, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, has proposed plans that would see energy bills have compulsory QR codes which can be scanned by consumer's smart phones and instantly be told how much gas an electricity they use and at what cost.
The energy secretary said that making it compulsory for energy providers to add the codes to bills would give people a a straightforward way to compare their energy bills and make informed decisions over whether or not to switch to a different provider.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has recently come under fire for not regulating the Big Six and failing to simplify the switching process for consumers who were trapped in costly energy tariffs. At last month's Stability in Energy Policy Conference Mr Davey said it was “unacceptable,” that it could up to six weeks for consumers to switch energy providers.
Mr Davey said: “We're determined to make energy markets work better for consumers – and despite all the evidence showing that QR codes on bills would make a real difference to people, energy companies still haven't done anything about it. With so many of us using smart phones and tablets nowadays it would be strange if we weren't using the latest technology to help us save money at home.”
The Government said the new implementation of the QR codes would help the most vulnerable bill payers as it would allow family, friends and advice organisations to easily access the data they needed to help people make the decision to move to a cheaper tariff.
