Ed Miliband has unveiled a Government-backed energy advice tool which could help hospitality businesses cut back on energy bills.
The Energy secretary is recommending that pubs serve their beer at warmer temperatures and switch off bottle fridges during overnight hours to reduce mounting costs.
Mr Miliband’s initiative arrives as the ongoing Middle East conflict continues to drive oil prices up.
Crude is now hovering around $100 per barrel, up from $73 before US and Israeli military action against Iran began.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s new online advice tool suggests that firms avoid unnecessary electricity use by switching off bottle fridges overnight.
It also suggests monitoring energy hotspots including extraction systems, ovens and lamps.
Fears are growing that more pubs could be forced to close as energy bills rise.
Some businesses say they are now being quoted prices around 30 per cent higher than in February, before the conflict escalated.
Industry figures responded to the Government’s guidance with derision on Tuesday, dismissing the measures as wholly insufficient to address the crippling energy costs facing the sector.
Pub owner Andy Lennox offered a withering assessment: “To be told to turn the lights off overnight really is groundbreaking stuff. Thank goodness someone in Whitehall finally cracked it. Decades of hospitality experience across the country, and the answer was sitting there all along.”
He described the initiative as “yet another short-sighted, bureaucratic, headline-grabbing load of rubbish,” arguing that competent operators already manage their energy consumption carefully as standard practice.
Ed Miliband has unveiled a Government-backed energy advice tool which could help hospitality businesses cut back on energy bills
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Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, pointed out that numerous appliances cannot simply be switched off due to health and safety requirements.
She said the sector needed help with “eye-watering energy bills” alongside broader business costs including “disproportionate tax bills.”
Mr Millband’s advice tool was trailed last year in a process overseen by tech firm Carbon Zero Services.
Participants of the trial included a pub in Bromley that cut its energy usage by 26 per cent.
Mark Chapman, the firm’s chief executive, said: “When you put energy savings into real hospitality terms, the impact becomes very clear. Saving around £2,000 a year is the equivalent of the profit from selling thousands of pints or the breathing space that protects hard-won margins during quieter months.”
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Pub landlords described the initiative as “yet another short-sighted, bureaucratic, headline-grabbing load of rubbish”
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GETTYThe surge in energy costs will burden the pub sector with an additional £169million annually, according to reports.
Ms McClarkin noted: “With the typical pub making just 12p profit on every £5 pint, it’s essential for landlords to save money on their energy bills wherever they can, with the added bonus of reducing their carbon footprint.”
Unlike households, commercial premises receive no protection from Ofgem’s price cap, leaving them fully exposed to wholesale market fluctuations.
Monthly energy bills for pubs can range from £650 to £6,000 depending on venue size and facilities, according to business comparison site EnergyCosts.
Industry Minister Chris McDonald defended the Government’s approach, arguing that volatile oil prices demonstrated the urgency of Britain’s transition away from fossil fuels.
Unlike households, commercial premises receive no protection from Ofgem’s price cap
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GETTY“The conflict in the Middle East is yet another reminder that the only route to energy sovereignty is to end our dependence on fossil fuel markets we do not control and transition to clean, home-grown power,” he said.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero reported that trial participants using the carbon-reduction tool saved £48 weekly, with plans to extend the programme to 525 additional businesses.
The guidance invites comparisons with the previous Conservative government’s “It All Adds Up” campaign, which cost taxpayers £18million and was widely mocked for suggesting measures such as shorter showers during the height of the energy crisis.