Warwickshire News Mine

Switch it Off 2008 has been running all week, calling on residents to switch off everything they don’t need in their homes, and in particular to not leave anything on standby.

And the local campaign has proved timely with the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announcing that the UK is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 as a major contribution to a global deal on climate change. 

In a Commons statement, his first since being appointed to the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Mr Miliband:

backed the recommendations of Lord Turner’s Climate Change Committee and said the Government would make the target binding in law by amending the Climate Change Bill currently going through Parliament. 

said that he plans to bring an amendment to the Energy Bill, also currently before the House, to introduce a ‘feed in tariff’ to support small scale renewables, and to make a further announcement soon on encouraging renewable heat.

made clear that, unless energy companies demonstrate action to end overcharging for many customers on pre-payment meters, he was prepared to consult on legislation to end unfair pricing differentials

This commitment has been welcomed in Warwickshire and the county council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Cllr Martin Heatley, said: “Climate change is clearly a global issue, but by doing things locally we really can make a difference. Householders supporting this week’s Switch it Off campaign will find they not only save themselves about £200 a year on average, but they will also cut tonnes of greenhouse gasses that would otherwise have gone into the atmosphere.”

Central Networks will tonight be monitoring the Big Switch Off to see just how well we can do in reducing our energy usage.

The aim of Switch it Off is to get people to think about doing the little things in their home to save energy, little things which can then have a huge impact on bills.

Videos, set-top boxes, televisions and even the clocks on microwaves are using surprisingly high amounts of power everyday in our homes. The average family spend on electricity can be slashed by 25 per cent by switching off.

According to the Energy Saving Trust nationally 71 per cent of people regularly leave items on stand by in their homes, and 65 per cent of people leave lights on in rooms they are not using.

If everyone in Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire stopped leaving appliances on stand by it would prevent 86,322 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere through wasted electricity and save more than £20m (enough to pay the annual electricity bill for 71,953 homes).

For more information on taking steps to `Switch it off’ visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/switchitoff or call the energy advice hotline on 0800 512012.

Link to WCC