Brits to be told how to save energy

Energy saving measures could save the British public over £400 a year, says the government

(Image credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus)

published 24 November 2022

The government is preparing to launch a celebrity-studded £25m public information campaign on action people can take to save on domestic energy bills.

According to The Times, government officials have identified eight energy-saving changes that will save the public “up to £420 a year with no loss of comfort” and help with the cost-of-living crisis.

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In a campaign that is to be “led by ministers and celebrities” Britons will be advised to take measures such as “reducing the temperature of boilers, which can save £80, turning off the heating when going out, which can save £105, and turning off radiators in empty rooms, which can save £105”, said the paper.

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Further measures include switching off electric devices rather than keeping them on standby – a measure “which can save £55” a year – and having a shower instead of a bath once a week, which will “save £15”.

But some well-worn advice – such as “to turn down thermostats or take shorter showers” – has not been included in the TV and social media campaign over fears they could have adverse effects on health and be seen as “nannying”, said The Times.

The campaign had been rejected by former prime minister Liz Truss. “But her veto has since been overturned by successor Rishi Sunak,” said the Daily Mail. It comes as the government “prepares to spend more than £37billion by March 2024 propping up people’s bills”, said the Mirror.

Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urged the public to “play your part” in reducing energy usage in order to limit the UK’s vulnerability over “what Putin chooses to do in Ukraine”.

He said he wanted the UK to reduce its energy consumption by 15% by 2030, a similar target to other European nations such as France and Germany, who have already begun energy-saving campaigns.

Hunt made the comments as electricity operator EDF delayed the reopening of three French nuclear power stations, “triggering concerns that Britain could struggle to import energy from across the Channel on days when domestic supply runs short”, said The Telegraph.

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Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.