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A long-awaited public information campaign to encourage UK households to cut their energy use and save money will begin this weekend.
The government has told energy suppliers that the communications campaign will start online on Saturday and will be followed by TV advertising after Christmas, The Guardian can reveal.
This will include advice to reduce boiler flow temperatures, put in draft proofing and turn off radiators in unused rooms.
Officials told suppliers that a dedicated website on gov.uk will launch on Saturday to complement the existing Help for Households site. The campaign will run across radio, print media, bus and railway stations and social media, with a 30-second TV ad slated to launch “in late December”.
In an email sent to suppliers, officials wrote: “As you may be aware, we are about to launch our UK-wide public awareness campaign to encourage people to reduce their energy use and save money on their bills.”
Ministers have been urged to launch a campaign to advise households on the best ways to reduce their energy consumption from the summer.
European governments have been asking companies and citizens to cut their consumption for months as countries scramble to replace Russian gas in the fallout from the Ukraine invasion.
However, the debate over whether to launch a public information campaign in Britain has divided the Conservative Party.
The Guardian revealed in October that Liz Truce’s government was prepared to launch a formal campaign but decided against it. It later emerged that Jacob Rees-Mogg, then business secretary, had signed off on a “light touch” £15m campaign to save consumers £300 a year on energy bills but the move was blocked by Truce, who called the “nanny state”. opposed the intervention of .
Rishi Sunak last month signed off an £18m energy saving campaign, along with £1bn of funding for household energy efficiency measures.
“The campaign will provide practical tips and advice on how consumers can make significant savings on their bills with simple actions that all add up, while helping vulnerable groups do so without harming their health,” officials wrote. gives appropriate information for”.
They said tips included advising the public to reduce their boiler flow temperature from 75C to 60C, turning off radiators in rooms not in use and “reducing heat loss from your property, such as draft-proofing windows and doors”.
Industry insiders said the government had discussed what steps to take and how to ensure the advice did not put lives at risk.
One industry chief executive said: “These are the right messages but this is coming much later than it needs to. In Europe, people have been told what to do for months.
The launch captures the chilly weather in the country and tests the resolve of households resisting heating due to high energy bills. “We have seen a 30% increase in consumption in the last few days compared to last year,” the executive said.
Energy companies have already seen a drop in energy consumption compared to last year, although this has been cushioned by a milder start to winter.
The government has stepped in to ease the pressure of rising energy bills through its Energy Price Guarantee, which caps a typical annual household bill at £2,500 but does not prevent households using more energy than average exceeding that figure.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been contacted for comment.
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