Ofgem will launch a new campaign to help people understand how they can reduce their energy use and slash bills this winter, the regulator’s boss has revealed. Jonathan Brearley said his organisation was working with energy companies to help them assist customers through what will prove to be a tough winter. It comes after Prime Minister Liz Truss reportedly blocked a £15 million energy saving campaign, which could have saved the Treasury several times its cost.

The plans had already been signed off by Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, according to the reports, but Ms Truss vetoed it amid worries about the “nanny state”. But experts say that the Government, which is picking up a multibillion-pound energy tab for households this winter, could save millions by investing in a public information campaign.

“On the campaign question, I just can’t see any logical reason why you wouldn’t do it,” Andrew Ward, the boss of ScottishPower’s retail unit told an audience in London on Thursday. “It’s absolutely the right thing to do for the UK.” 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 as Britons try to keep their homes warm. Figuring out how to use less energy while still staying comfortable will be important for millions of people this winter.

“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 on Thursday. “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.”

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