More than 1,000 people in one week have signed up to a "game changing" Westcountry co-operative aimed at ending fuel poverty.
Cornwall Together, a collective-buying initiative unveiled by Energy Secretary Ed Davey at the Eden Project a week ago, plans to cut energy bills across the board.
The pioneering project, an umbrella organisation to bulk-purchase electricity, gas and heating oil and share the savings with consumers, could produce up to £3.7 million worth of savings to Cornish households and businesses.
It also offers free loft and cavity wall insulation to every new member.
Partners in the ground-breaking project said they felt inspired by the fact that so many people in the county are joining in and have urged more to look at the cost savings and other benefits.
Project director and energy manager at the Eden Project, Matt Hastings, who dreamed up the scheme, said: "The response has been fantastic – more than 100 people a day are joining and all the partners are doing everything they can to get the message out there.
"The more people that sign up, the greater the potential savings on energy bills and benefits for everyone.
"We want people to tell their friends and families to join in and let them know about how this could offer thousands in Cornwall a cheaper deal on their gas and electricity."
The revolutionary scheme is free to join and will enable consumers to bind together as a single powerful unit to negotiate cheaper energy bills.
The partnership is made up of Cornwall Council, Cornwall NHS, Unison, the Eden Project and St Austell Brewery. It initially plans to buy fuel at low prices and pass on the discounts to its employees, around 50,000 between the members, with a longer-term vision to expand and extend the scheme beyond the Cornish border.
Cornwall Together – which is working with Community Buying Unlimited, the Rural Community Council and Community Energy Plus – will act as the sole bulk-buying contact for energy companies to negotiate with, switching suppliers whenever a better deal can be found. It is thought to be the first time an entire region has united as a community to buy energy.
Staff could see their fuel bills cut by between 10% and 20% under the scheme.
Mr Davey applauded the explicit aim of extending the benefits of collective switching to the most vulnerable householders. This was a reference to the scheme's social purpose, whereby it will invest 10 per cent of the revenue generated from each energy switch into a fund to address fuel poverty, which affects those spending more than 10% of their income on energy. Cornwall Together will then seek match-funding from other organisations.
Mr Davey added that he hoped the move would set an example for others "up and down the country".
The comparison website uSwitch.com described the scheme as a "complete game- changer" which could see the six in ten households that have never switched move off their old-fashioned and expensive tariffs.