Governments in continental Europe are rolling out campaigns to advise the public on ways to save energy ahead of the winter, but Britain has so far refrained, with the government arguing that such measures would have little impact. Industry observers labeled its messaging "bizarre" at a time when households are struggling with soaring energy bills.

According to an Oct. 7 report in The Times of London, the U.K. blocked a £15 million public information campaign on energy-saving amid concerns it would be too interventionist. The report came a day after National Grid Electricity System Operator Ltd. warned that the U.K. could experience short power cuts if gas supply conditions worsen.

"We're ... hesitant to tell people what they should do," Climate Minister Graham Stuart told radio station LBC. "We're not a nanny-state government."

Britain's stance juxtaposes with the approach of other European nations, where governments have outlined a series of energy-saving measures in preparation for a winter of reduced energy supplies due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"European governments ... have perhaps just clocked that this is a national energy security issue, and the better prepared people are, the more they realize that their collective actions have an impact, the better chance the countries have of getting through the problem," said Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a London-based think tank.

The U.K., in contrast, is "walking into this winter rather unprepared," the analyst said in an interview.

'Always value in saving energy'

A spokesperson for the U.K. government confirmed Oct. 11 that it does not intend to launch a public energy-saving information campaign, nor does it plan to follow the EU in adopting energy-saving regulations.

To combat soaring energy prices, EU energy ministers in September agreed to a voluntary overall electricity demand reduction target of 10% and a mandatory target of 5% for peak hours. Member states will also aim to reduce their gas demand by 15% over the winter period. For both power and gas, the European Commission left it up to member states to decide how to meet the targets.

Some European nations moved fast to bring in regulations aimed at reducing their power and gas demand, especially those hit hard by reduced Russian gas deliveries, such as Germany and Italy.

Germany, for instance, placed restrictions on the nighttime lighting of public buildings, museums or monuments; the illumination of advertisement boards at night; and the heating of private swimming pools. Italy, meanwhile, urged reductions in maximum temperature settings and a daily reduction in heating time of one hour.

France, whose winter outlook is complicated by its large nuclear fleet severely underproducing, outlined measures of its own Oct. 6, such as setting heating thresholds on public buildings and workplaces, staggering working hours and encouraging working from home.

In the LBC interview, Stuart said Britain's challenge is to reduce peak energy demand. The U.K. relies heavily on gas for heating and power generation but has limited gas storage capacity to utilize when demand is high.

"A general campaign about reducing energy will probably make no difference to our energy security, so that would be a good reason not to do it," the minister said. The U.K. government spokesperson said it intends to launch "a voluntary service to reward users who reduce demand at peak times."

Stuart's point is that "security of supply is a peak demand issue [that] must be managed on short notice and in real time," according to Marlon Dey, head of research for the U.K. and Ireland at consultancy Aurora Energy Research.

"National Grid must manage this directly using reserve generation, or specially contracted demand-side response capacity [that] can react quickly," Dey said in an email. "The latter is very different to the general public's consumption, which is not controllable by National Grid and therefore can't help meet peak demand."

Still, there is "always value in saving energy," according to Rob Gross, director of the U.K. Energy Research Centre and professor of energy policy at Imperial College London. "It is also possible to take action across peak demand to move demand over short periods from domestic consumers as well as industry."

'Really bizarre'

Energy regulator Ofgem said there is "significant risk" of gas shortages in the U.K. this winter due to the war in Ukraine and supply shortages from Europe, but lobby group Energy U.K. said the system "should cope," given that demand flexibility measures can be brought in if margins are tight.

Still, Gross said the U.K. should have launched a public information campaign over the summer, describing the government's failure to do so as a "huge missed opportunity." Germany's measures were introduced at the beginning of September, enabling the public and businesses to get into the habit of conserving energy before winter hit.

An effective information campaign would also "by nature reduce peak demand" in the U.K., Cran-McGreehin said. "If you want people to start making big differences at peak time, you have to get them to think about energy usage."

With Britain squarely focused on peak demand, energy-saving regulations in Europe have been largely aimed at reducing overall consumption. European nations, in general, "are less exposed to gas [than the U.K.], they have more gas storage, and yet they're being much more proactive about saving energy," Cran-McGreehin said.

Conversely, the U.K.'s messaging gives "the impression to members of the public that [saving energy] doesn't matter, it's not important," the analyst added. "It is really bizarre."

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