Western Isles Council plans to help island families save around £130 a year on fuel costs by selling electricity cheaper than big suppliers.
The authority is to set up its own energy supply company with the aim of selling locally generated renewable electricity.
More competitive prices should be passed onto island households.
The council intends to set up a joint venture partnership with an existing licensed electricity supplier to offer a special community tariff to families and businesses within the Outer Hebrides.
At present, three suppliers are interested in coming to a deal and the council wants it to be launched to the local market as soon as possible – either to a pilot customer base or large scale customer, or to the community as a whole.
Initially, this could be under a “white label” arrangement where a big supplier offers a cheaper price to islanders under a Hebridean-branded tariff.
In the longer term, the council hopes to negotiate agreements with a raft of community wind turbine operators and the commercial operator of the planned large Stornoway wind farm to buy and resell electricity generated on local moors to island customers.
A council report suggests an average of £130 a year in reduced electricity prices for each household may be a “realistic target to aim for in the short term.”