A scheme to help residents in the Scarborough and Ryedale areas save money on their energy bills is back for a second round.

Following the success of the summer auction in which almost 1,500 households registered to look at offers to switch to an exclusive fixed tariff, Big Community Switch is staging a second energy auction next month October.

Big Community Switch, which is supported by North Yorkshire Council, aims to help households to save money on their energy bills by securing them competitive tariffs with trusted energy suppliers

Hosted by iChoosr, people can register for the energy auction from today (September 4) The auction takes place on October 3, with offers made from October 16. They must be accepted by November 27.

The amount of money that can be saved will vary depending on individual factors, such as the current tariff, payment method, consumption and the winning bid. Savings, or where there are no savings, are clearly displayed in the personal offer received. There is no guarantee that an offer will be the cheapest, but the model aims to ensure most people are offered lower annual energy bills than they are currently paying or are available at the time of the offer.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Greg White, said: “In the first auction we helped 1,413 households look at their tariffs. We hope this second round will offer savings for many more.

“We understand that switching energy suppliers can be a daunting task, and some customers have expressed concerns about the market conditions and the lack of cheaper deals available.”

To register, log on to www.northyorks.gov.uk/BigCommunitySwitch

iChoosr is a collective switching expert operating in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium, helping households switch to new energy suppliers. It organises domestic energy group buying schemes in the UK in collaboration with community leaders, such as councils.