Green energy campaigners light up Houses of Parliament

MPs urged to 'turn off the lights'

Parliament was lit up in the early hours of 10 December (SWNS)

Green energy enthusiasts have made a statement - by projecting a message onto the Houses of Parliament asking MPs to "turn off the lights".

The projection, in 20 metre high white letters, was beamed onto Parliament’s facade to increase pressure on the incoming government to take the climate crisis more seriously.

It comes after a survey of 2,000 UK adults found 75 per cent want the government to lead by example when it comes to sustainable policies.

The campaign was led by pay-as-you-go energy provider Utilita, whose founder Bill Bullen said: “The greenest and cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use - there’s just no excuse for using a third more energy each year.

“Our politicians must lead by example by demonstrating how we can be more energy efficient, and the importance of doing so.

“My personal mission is to help at least 20 per cent of the UK’s households reduce the amount of energy they waste by 2025 - that’s 5 million homes, but we hope to reach more than that.

“We’ve paved the way since launching 11 years ago as the first company to install energy-saving smart meters into 90 per cent of our customers’ homes, putting them in better control of their usage from day one.”

The study also found nine in 10 Brits believe they are now ‘energy aware’ and do their best to reduce how much they use.

And the OnePoll figures also found 76 per cent have made an effort to reduce their consumption.

Bill Bullen added: “It is my belief that it’s the responsibility of the UK Government to educate and support the reduction of energy wastage to ensure that their investments in green energy are best spent.

“Renewable energy is expensive to create, making it a false economy if it’s being wasted.

“If the Government has given up on educating the nation, then we are in big trouble.”

Utilita’s #EnergyHigh5 campaign, which officially launches in early January, is a positive behaviour change campaign designed to educate the nation on how households can waste less energy.

They could also save approximately £163 on their annual energy bill by making five simple adjustments to home energy use.

The campaign will include school and sports team education programmes, access to subsidised energy saving items and white goods, and will put pressure on the UK Government for new rules to support consumer choices.

UPDATE (12.12.19) A previous version of this article reported that the energy usage in the Houses of Parliament increased by 28 per cent in 2017/18. We would like to clarify that the figure in fact related to the energy costs incurred by the Houses of Parliament; the original claim has been removed from the piece.

SWNS