Energy experts from across Europe are to visit Dundee to discuss a plan that could save council tenants up to 20% on their fuel bills.
Labour MSP Jenny Marra has organised an energy summit for next month as part of her attempt to convince the city council to copy collective bargaining schemes already successfully used to lower energy costs in Holland and Belgium.
Experts from the two countries will travel to the City of Discovery for the meeting, which will be chaired by Professor David Sigsworth of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum.
Representatives of energy watchdog OFGEM and Consumer Focus Scotland will also be around the table on Thursday June 28.
Hillcrest Housing Association, which has thousands of tenants in Dundee, has already expressed an interest in the idea and will also be in attendance.
Ms Marra said: ”The Dundee Energy Summit is our first and important step in trying to set up the UK’s first community collective buying scheme that will save people 20% on their fuel bills.
”I am delighted that Professor David Sigsworth accepted my invitation to chair the meeting. The Scottish Government has appointed him to tackle fuel poverty. He is an expert in the field and will be able to ask all the right questions of people round the table to make things work.
”I hope that the SNP administration at Dundee City Councill will be at the meeting on June 28 to deliver this benefit for those 14,000 council tenancies in Dundee.
”Labour is committed to this ambition for Dundee. I hope the other parties will be, too.”
Ms Marra added that Dundee is the ”ideal place” for the ambitious new scheme.
”We were the first city in Europe to have a district heating scheme in the Logie estate and, as Scotland’s sunniest city and an with ambition for renewables, it makes sense that Dundee people should be the first to feel the benefits of innovation in energy supply and buying.”
In a recent meeting with the Belgian group, Ms Marra discovered that they have managed to save people in the scheme nearly 30% on their annual fuel bills.