EAGA GETS FIONA'S BACKING (Fiona Hall MEP)

Fiona Hall MEP <info@fionahall.org.uk>

EAGA GETS FIONA'S BACKING

February 18, 2008 12:00 AM

Following the recent announcement that the BBC has chosen North-East firm Eaga as a partner in the switchover to digital and specifically to provide help with the switchover to the vulnerable in society, the region's local Liberal Democrat MEP has welcomed the move and pointed to a recently adopted European report highlighting the importance of energy efficiency.

Fiona Hall, Lib Dem Energy Spokesperson in Europe, has greeted the awarding of a £500m contract to support services firm, Eaga, saying that not only is it good news for the employment prospects regionally, but that it is also inline with policies at the top of the European climate change agenda.

Commenting on the success of Eaga, which beat off rival bids from the likes of Capita, Fiona Hall said:

"This is a great North East business success story. Eaga has a reputation as a leading provider of residential energy-efficiency solutions, and this move demonstrates that the North East business community can lead the way and seize the opportunities that are presented as the UK and European Union moves to a low-carbon economy.

"The digital switchover will mean soaring demand for set-top boxes but some models are much more energy efficient than others. My report on energy efficiency, which was recently adopted by the European Parliament, called for swift action on labelling digital set-top boxes so that consumers can easily choose the most energy-efficient models, which are cheap to run, and so that the worst models can be taken off the market.

"Eaga are taking on a really vital task: helping the vulnerable get to grips with the digital switchover and at the same time highlighting the importance of saving energy and saving money."