Ofgem to launch campaign to help reduce energy use and cut bills, boss Jonathan Brearley reveals

The energy regulator will begin a campaign to help people understand how they can reduce their energy use and cut bills this winter.

Ofgem’s boss, Jonathan Brearley, said it was working with energy companies to help them assist customers through what will prove to be a tough winter.

Households will not pay more than 34p per unit of electricity they use and 10.3p for gas under the government’s price cap, which will last for two years, but bills will still be twice what they were a year ago.

“All of us could be thinking about how to reduce our energy use where possible,” Mr Brearley told a conference organised by trade body Energy UK in London.

“This is not only the most direct way to reduce our bills. It directly helps with security of supply, contributes to decarbonisation and saves money for the public finances.”

He said innovation foundation Nesta recently launched a campaign to convince people to reduce their boilers’ flow temperature, which can save cash without reducing the temperature inside homes.

Ofgem said the tool can save consumers £1bn and the Treasury £500m.

Mr Brearley added: “Organisations such as the Energy Saving Trust recommend only having your heating on when required, turning off lights when you leave the room and switching devices off standby, for example.

“Ofgem is working with the energy sector and interested groups to help consumers navigate this information and we will shortly be launching a campaign to explain the support available, how to reduce energy consumption, and what customers should expect from their providers.”

It comes after the National Grid’s Electricity System Operator warned last week that the UK could face power cuts in the “unlikely” event that supplies of gas fall short of demand.

But climate minister Graham Stuart said the country was unlikely to face power cuts this winter.

“Our system should cope. It’s very unlikely that we will see the conditions that would lead to blackouts,” he said.