Could you boycott a utility company?

iyiarz

Its an open question, which I'm interested in getting other peoples opinions on. The hike in energy prices recently is hitting people hard. Could you boycott your supplier?

I've switched off my gas boiler (since its summer anyway) and i'm now not using any Gas whatsoever. Not even the pilot light in the boiler is running. I've switched my Gas to a 'No Standing Charge' tarrif, so my bill should be £0

Anything cooked on the gas hob is being nuked. I boil the kettle to wash up.

Could you do the same? Could you cope?

If lots of people did the same, would it make a difference?

c0113tt3

if you are doing this out of principle, ie. a boycott, then really for it to have any impact it would require at least several hundred thousand people to have any impact if any at all.

If you are doing this to save money, then its a great idea, but kettles do use a lot of electric. Gas is cheaper than using electric to heat.

We all know the energy companies are greedy with profiteering, but there is one ethical company called ebico, and if you plan to use very little to moderate, they may be good for you. There are investigations into the market to see if the energy companies are being unfair, and some companies are more unfair than others, namely npower.

iyiarz

I noticed an interesting thread where someone worked out how many Kw it took to heat a water tank against using a kettle to boil water as needed.

It seemed to favor the kettle. It would depend on your lifestyle and facilities. I have an electric shower for example, so water is only being heated for washing up... Even the washing machine heats the water it needs to use.

Granted, it would take a lot of people. Even a significant reduction in 'wasted' Gas energy being used by everyone may have an impact ?