Meet the Ebico Directors

Hugh Lee

Hugh Lee, FRSA, is one of the founding directors of Ebico, and now company chairman. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2007 in recognition of the contribution Ebico makes to society. Hugh was initially attracted by the idea of using market forces to do something radically different...

“I have over forty years experience as an energy economist specialising in understanding and analysing the fuel markets.

“It’s very clear that in most competitive markets, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer – commercial companies generally reward the better-off rather than the disadvantaged. It’s a scandal that so many people in Britain die of cold and I think it’s vital to do anything we can do to help tackle fuel poverty. We need fair trade in fuel as well as in buying products from the third world.

“I hope that Ebico will be the catalyst for a new generation of pre-payment meters that cost much less and are easy for the customer to use. I also hope we can persuade the Government and OFGEM that people are not just looking for the cheapest gas and electricity, but have other values. When people buy a car, they take many features into account as well as price; similarly, many people buying fuel are concerned to find a supplier who treats all customers fairly, and who will respond quickly and efficiently in dealing with any problems.

“My consultancy work includes environmental economics and I"m convinced that climate change is one of the greatest threats to mankind. So I’m delighted that Ebico can also offer EquiClimate, one of the best carbon-offsetting schemes available.”

Phil Levermore

Phil Levermore is Ebico’s managing director. He outlines here his role and background, and the goals of Ebico...

“My role involves day-to-day responsibility for the smooth running of the company. Our staff work as a team, and I ensure that each of the team know what they’re doing, and have the skills and abilities necessary to serve our customers effectively. I’m also the person that the other directors rely upon to implement the decision and policies of the Board.

“I have an honours degree in Electrical Engineering and spent the early part of my career working as a chartered engineer for British Gas. After studying for an MBA, I transferred to an international group looking at electricity generating projects using gas. I then moved on to British Energy, where I helped set up the company’s market trading operation. My background’s given me a good understanding of how both the gas and electricity industries work in the UK and an appreciation of the successes and failures of liberalisation in the UK energy markets.

“Ebico’s primary goal is to offer the fairest energy prices to as many people as possible and save low income households as much money on their energy bills as we can. I reckon we’ve saved households about in total £1 million over the last year (2007) and we’d like to double that in 2008.

Read on for Phil’s story of the birth of Ebico…

Anne Mellanby

Ebico director Anne Mellanby is a social psychologist who teaches in the Universities of Oxford and Cardiff. She brings to the Ebico board the expertise of her academic discipline – in particular, understanding about how we function as human beings and how our circumstances can radically affect our behaviour – as well as a female perspective...

“I care passionately about social justice. For me the growing dichotomy between rich and poor in our society represents an inherent flaw, and we need to do something radical to tackle it. Ebico Ltd, with EquiGas and EquiPower, is doing just that.

“Many people with pre-payment meters – electricity and gas meters where the customer has to pay in advance for their fuel by getting a card or key charged up at their local shop – are on the lowest incomes in our society. I feel that to charge these more vulnerable customers at a higher rate for their fuel, which is a basic necessity rather than a luxury, is simply wrong. Often the standing charge on their meter amounts to more than the actual cost of the fuel.

“According to Help the Aged, the commonest cause of death amongst elderly people in Wales is hypothermia, largely because they can not afford to heat their homes. This is one of the groups where Ebico has been able to make a real difference by challenging the status quo. As Ebico has no standing charge, our pre-payment meter customers only pay for the actual amount of fuel they have used.

“One of the letters we received in our early days of trading came from a customer whose handwriting suggested he was very elderly. He said:

‘Dear Sirs, I knew when I changed to EquiGas that my gas bills would be lower. I didn't know that they would be halved. I am very pleased. Thank you very much.’

“Letters like that make it all worth while. We have made a real difference to that customer, and to many others. And that's the feel-good factor of being able to share in the vision and decision-making strategy of Ebico as a director.’