Santander handing out free £1,000 to customers for their energy bills
Santander and Scottish Power are teaming up to hand out heat pumps or solar panels to customers. The move from the high street bank and the energy giant comes as the Ofgem price cap rises to a eye-watering £1717 this week.
Thankfully, Santander and Scottish Power customers could save hundreds of pounds thanks to a tie-up between the companies. The energy and banking giants said they had joined forces to make adopting energy efficient technology in UK homes “more affordable”.
The new initiative will see Santander UK offer £500 cashback to its customers who take out a loan to finance renewable energy home projects such as heat pumps or solar panels, which typically cost thousands of pounds to install.
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ScottishPower said it would provide a further £500 credit to those customers’ energy accounts when they purchase and install solar panels at home through the power provider. Together, the incentives mean customers could receive a total of £1,000 when they choose to invest in solar panels.
Andrew Ward, chief executive of ScottishPower’s customer business, said: “We know that a large proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from domestic housing, and that measures like heat pumps and solar panels are the solution. Not only will they support the move to a net zero country, they also have the added benefit of reducing customers’ energy bills and protecting households from volatile gas prices.
“The people of the UK need banks like Santander to offer more affordable and innovative finance solutions to help the energy transition. Many homes don’t have the savings to invest and so making it easier for households has to be the priority of energy companies, banks and government.”
Michael Taylor, head of green finance, homes, Santander UK, added: “We know that many homeowners want to take steps towards improving their property’s energy efficiency, but our research showed that more than half don’t know where to find trusted information, suppliers and installers. Our partnership with ScottishPower will help customers overcome these hurdles, as well as giving them money back in their pocket to help reduce the cost of upgrading their home.”