A Thornbury businesswoman swapped sewing curtains for helping people to reduce their utility bills and hasn’t looked back since.
Sue Pietersen, who lives and works in Thornbury, gave up her upholstery business last year to become a full time utility consultant and now she is on a mission to show people how much money they could save on their gas and electric simply by understanding their bills.
Her new venture started when a cold call to her doorstep ended up in Sue giving away her bank details to a new energy company, which falsely claimed her current provider was no longer in business. “I was shocked that someone could so falsely say such a thing” said Sue.
So in 2008 Sue decided to use that bad experience positively and started her training as an independent utility distributor with Utility Warehouse. She is constantly amazed by how much people over-pay every month on their bills, mainly because they have no idea what tariff they are on or what the unit cost of their gas and electricity is. This is why Sue is trying to raise awareness of energy tariffs and high charges.
She explains that energy is being generated in many ways and it all goes into the national grid, which delivers energy straight into our homes and businesses. “It is not your energy company who generates your gas and electricity, as it comes directly off the National Grid. You choose the way you pay for your energy” said Sue. “You wouldn’t fill your car up on the motorway if you had the choice, because you know it is more expensive. You’d shop around and get it cheaper. But do you know how much per unit you are paying for gas and electric and do you compare it and try and find the cheapest? Most people don’t and I think it is crazy.”
Sue added: “The saddest part is that the elderly are the most vulnerable and they are often on the highest tariffs.”
Utilities Thornbury
