HOUSEHOLDs have had to pay up to £1,900 more a year for their energy due to the government scrapping investment in home insulation and green tech, a report has found.

British consumers could have saved £70 billion by 2023 if there had been greater investment and faster action on insulation, solar panels, renewables, heat pumps and electric cars over the past decade, according to the study by think tank, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

This would have saved £56bn in the first two years of the gas crisis in 2022 and 2023, as insulation and clean tech would have reduced demand for expensive oil and gas, the report said.