ENERGY groups are challenging the Big Six suppliers by launching their own clean energy tariff, potentially saving people in Sussex millions of pounds each year.

Community Energy South (CES) aims to launch its own tariff in the summer. The collective of co-operative groups gives advice to those looking to save money, be more energy-efficient and find ways of creating renewable alternatives.

As the movement has grown, the factor of driving down consumer energy bills has come to the forefront.

Richard Watson, director of CES and founder of community benefit cooperative Energise Sussex Coast, based in St Leonards, said: “It’s become increasingly about saving money, especially in areas of deprivation.

It started with the people who were passionate and it’s now a great way to invest.”

As an example, Glenleigh Park Academy school in Bexhill generates electricity through solar panels.

The largest school solar scheme in the country, it gets 75% of its power from the panels on its roof.

The project began in 2012 with the help of a £10,000 grant from UK Power Networks to Energise Sussex Coast. A new co-operative called the Schools Energy Co-op was set up to fund it and community investors raised £400,000 to put solar panels on eight schools in the UK, four of them in Sussex.

The co-op gets its return from a solar feed-in tariff subsided by the Government, which pays about 13p per unit.

The excess electricity generated is sold back to the grid, with the school on target to make up to £250,000 in 20 years.

Despite growing by two class sizes, the school has already reduced its bills.

CES said that last year 13 million homes – half the UK housing stock – were in credit to the tune of £1.3 billion, the equivalent of £100 per home.

Businesses can benefit, too. Kayla Ente, finance director of CES and founder of Brighton and Hove Energy Services Co-op, said: “Business energy is far less regulated than domestic energy because Ofgem has less power.

There are agents who sign up businesses to long-term fixed contracts at extortionate rates.”

You would think business owners of all people were attuned to value for money but Ms Ente said some are not.

She said: “We found a case of a business in Sussex that saved £4,000 a year by switching its tariff, so we are not excluding businesses from our vision.

“We are not going to make any decisions that are not in the best interests of our customers. No other company can offer that service.”