Energy Giant Apologises For ‘Poorly Judged’ Advice

Energy supplier SSE has apologised for a ‘poorly judged and unhelpful’ email to customers, that contained advice to keep warm and reduce energy bills that suggested they snuggle up to pets and exercise.

The Guardian reports that the firm, which is owned by OVO Energy, sent the advice which suggested 10 ‘simple and cost-effective ways to keep warm this winter’, such as eating bowls of porridge, doing star jumps and cuddling pets. The web page has now been deleted.

In a statement, OVO Energy said: “Recently a link to a blog containing energy-saving tips was sent to customers. We understand how difficult the situation will be for many of our customers this year.”

It continued to add that the company is working hard to find ‘meaningful solutions’ to the impending energy crisis and that it recognised that the content of the blog was ‘poorly judged and unhelpful.’

“We are embarrassed and sincerely apologise."

Some British businesses and households have seen their energy bills rise in recent months, as suppliers grapple with a sharp rise in wholesale gas prices.

It has been estimated that UK households could be seeing bills around £2,000 more this year, as wholesale gas prices in Europe have leapt by 400 per cent over the previous year, while electricity prices have increased 300 per cent.

The increases have been driven by cold weather, nuclear plant outages in France and reduced gas flow from Russia.

According to National Energy Action, more than 4 million UK households are in the grip of fuel poverty - a figure which the charity believes could rise by 2 million in April when a cap on energy prices is expected to increase.

Following the apology, Darren Jones MP, who chairs Parliament's business select committee, tweeted: “Good, I'm glad they apologised. I'm not sure who signed off a marketing campaign telling people to wear a jumper and eat porridge instead of turning on the heating if you can't afford it.”

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