With fuel bills expected to soar, households across the country are cutting back on the use of electricity and gas.

People are heating their homes for just a few hours a day, they are turning down thermostats, having fewer baths, even limiting the number of times they boil the kettle.

The number of people living in fuel poverty – where more than ten per cent of income is spent on fuel bills – is increasing. In Bradford it is estimated to affect 37,500 homes.

The problem has led to the belief that it may best be tackled by communities banding together rather than individuals attempting to make a stand on their own. Now a scheme has been created that aims to save people hundreds of pounds by reducing their household energy bills.

Bradford Council has joined forces with local energy supply experts Community Energy Direct and consumer champions Which? in an initiative that aims to deliver the best possible deal from energy suppliers. The idea is that the more people who join, the better the deal will be.

Community Energy Direct works in partnership with the Department of Energy & Climate Change, local authorities and other community groups.

The principle is simple: households contact Community Energy Direct to register their interest in changing their energy supplier.

Their details are then passed on to Which?, who then invite the suppliers to put forward their best price deal, which is then offered to those who have registered. If you then want to change, you can, but there is no obligation to do so.

Councillor Andrew Thornton, executive member for the environment, said: “It is a simple way for households to tackle the challenge of ever-rising gas and electricity prices. The more people who join, then the greater the potential to deliver the lowest possible prices.”

Hawarun Hussain, Green Party councillor for Shipley, is in favour of the scheme, which launches this month and is also available in Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York.

“I have registered myself,” she says. “As energy prices go up, it offers a fantastic opportunity and builds on a sense of community. It makes people feel they are part of something on a wider scale. The more people who sign up, the better it is, and the more people benefit.”

The involvement of the Council will, she adds, give people confidence.

“If something is communal and is led by the Council, and lots of people are signing up, they will be more comfortable with it. I’m really positive about it and am really pleased that we are implementing it.”

The scheme follows the Big Switch, a collective scheme run last year by Which?, which saved those who took part an average of £223 a year. It also comes just weeks after the Government’s new Green Deal, providing loans for households to invest in improvements to make homes more energy efficient, such as loft insulation, double glazing and cavity wall insulation.

“Proper insulation can conserve between a quarter and a third on the cost of bills,” says Green Party councillor for Shipley Kevin Warnes, who recently had cavity wall insulation in his Victorian terrace home. “We can already feel how much warmer it is,” he says.

He believes the community energy scheme will bring enormous benefits. “It is a fantastic initiative and will particularly help people on low incomes.” He adds that he hoped consumers would sign up with green energy suppliers.

Pete Betts, sustainability officer with Bradford Council, says the scheme allows people to take control of their own energy needs.

“It is a behavioural change, about people taking ownership. We want as many people as possible to sign up, especially as energy prices are expected to rise by ten per cent over the next two to five years.”

He advises that should householders also be replacing their boiler, they should make sure they install the most efficient, A-rated type, “set the thermostat to between 18 and 21 degrees and don’t have the heating on when you don’t need to.”

To sign up, visit community energy.info or ring 0845 4502581. People living in the district must register by Wednesday, April 17.