LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – It has come to light that Liz Truss disregarded the government’s own climate advisors when she opposed an energy-saving campaign this winter, as anger over her opposition to the idea has grown.
In a letter to the prime minister last month, the advisory body Climate Change Committee outlined the need for a “comprehensive energy advice service” to lower demand.
The experts stated that public awareness of what could be done to cut energy use (either in families or enterprises) was too low. By raising awareness of low- or zero-cost activities that might immediately minimise wasted energy, such as simple draught proofing and lowering boiler flow temperatures, specific advice on that could help in the short run. Reducing boiler flow temperatures can cut gas usage by 6-8% on its own.
Truss, though, is still opposed to the £15 million public awareness campaign that was reportedly backed by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary. There were no intentions for the government to advise the public to cut usage for the sake of their energy supplies, the business department said.
Labour claims, a public awareness campaign may help households save up to £8.4 billion. Its estimate is based on £300 of savings per household. Through Truss’s energy price guarantee, the state currently massively subsidises household bills.
Meanwhile, the Carbon Brief website’s research reveals that if David Cameron’s government had continued to push energy efficiency and renewables, UK gas imports could have been reduced by 65 terawatt hours, or 13%, in total.
The shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, claimed Liz Truss was demonstrating an extraordinary blend of passion and incompetence with every move she took You could tell how poorly the country was being governed when even Jacob Rees-Mogg seemed to have a more sensible attitude than the prime minister. The British people were suffering as a result.
A campaign to raise awareness is being pushed by Citizens Advice. Its head of energy policy, Gillian Cooper, stated that people needed straightforward, consistent advice on how to properly manage their use of energy. The government was in the best position to accomplish that, with a trustworthy national awareness campaign. Further focused assistance for those in the forefront of this crisis must accompany this, so they could afford keeping lights and heat on.
Councils such as those in Stevenage, Cornwall, and Sevenoaks are among those that advise staff to keep the heat on low or lower office thermostats, often lowering temperatures from 21C to 19C. The maximum temperature for those working in non-domestic facilities run by Perth and Kinross council in Scotland is 18C.
Others have completely shut down business buildings in order to save electricity. The Leeds City Council said that as part of plans for increasing home working that had been given added urgency by the need to reduce excessive energy consumption, the council was closing numerous non-public-access buildings. Wakefield Council in West Yorkshire has closed its Grade I-listed county hall offices and announced it is considering temporary closure of more buildings, with “nothing off the table.” Wakefield Council blamed the shutdown on rising energy prices. Denise Jeffery, leader of the labour-controlled council, claimed that as a result of the energy crisis, gas prices have tripled and electricity costs have increased by 140%.
The Tory-controlled Cornwall council announced it was considering proposals to reduce street lighting in some areas, a move that several other local authorities are also considering. The council has lowered temperatures in its offices from 21C to 19C.
The communal heating hours for residents of certain of Islington Council’s residential buildings are being reduced from 18 to 13 per day as a result of the council’s declaration of a cost of living emergency in north London. It added that the “emergency action” was being taken to prevent cost hikes and that it had little options but to adopt the measure given the skyrocketing worldwide gas prices. The energy price cap does not apply to people who use shared heating systems.
