AN OXFORD man has launched a consumers' group to take on power companies and reduce energy bills.

Kevin Maynard, 47, of Cutteslowe, has set up the Home Energy Network, a purchasing group aiming to negotiate bulk discounts through the mass-buying of power from gas and electricity suppliers.

He wants to get 10,000 people involved, starting with Oxfordshire residents, and estimated it could save homes from £200 to £300 a year.

Mr Maynard said that from his work in the research industry, he had seen universities establish a consortium to bulk-buy their power, and did not see why the same practice could not be used by ordinary consumers.

So far around 100 people have signed up since the network's launch on Friday, but Mr Maynard estimated that within three to four months he would have enlisted the 10,000 people he thought he would need to get the attention of energy companies.

He believed 10,000 people would represent a group of people who spend around £10m on gas and electricity each year - a purchasing power companies would find hard to ignore.

Mr Maynard said: "If we all move together, that creates pressure.

"How much people might save depends on a number of things, what their bills used to be, how many people we get to join the network and so on.

"If we only got 1,000 people, that is interesting but it is hardly something companies will go crying about, but, if we got 100,000, companies would bend over backwards for that - and that could amount to a 30 to 40 per cent discount.

"It's all about consumer power."

Mr Maynard is charging people £3.50 to sign up to the network, which he said would both act as a sign to energy companies that people were serious, and also to pay for experts from the energy sector to negotiate the discounts.

He aimed to put out tenders to different energy companies at the start of October, with negotiations taking place for the next month or two, with pricing details being released to subscribers by the end of November.

If successful, members of the network could benefit from cheaper gas and electricity within six or seven months.

To sign up with the network, visit its website at homeenergynetwork.co.uk