BORDERS households recorded their largest rise in electricity consumption in eight years in 2020, new figures show.

The majority of people were forced to spend more time at home as lockdown restrictions were introduced in an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy figures show 251 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity were consumed by domestic meters in the region in 2020.

This was a five per cent rise on the 239 GWh consumed the year before and the largest change since comparable records began in 2012.

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Fears have been raised about the soaring cost of energy bills – driven by rising gas prices – as work from home advice has been reintroduced throughout the UK.

During her speech on Wednesday (January 5), First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Work from home whenever possible. As the new working year gets underway, I’m appealing again to employers to enable this.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is calling on the UK Government to remove VAT on domestic gas and electricity bills through the winter months to help families weather the storm.

Ms Reeves said: “Right now, people are being hit by a cost-of-living crisis which has seen energy bills soar, food costs increase and the weekly budget stretched.

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“We need a sustainable and ambitious approach to energy, which is why Labour would also ramp up ambition with our plan to retrofit 19 million homes, making our energy supply chain more secure without hitting household savings.”

The business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng met with energy companies and regulator Ofgem after Christmas to discuss how to deal with soaring gas and electricity prices. A Government spokesman said: “Throughout the meeting there was discussion of the issues facing the sector and an agreement for meetings to continue over the coming days and weeks to ensure UK consumers are protected.”

Across Great Britain electricity use by homes rose by 5.6 per cent in 2020, but while people spent more time at home, lockdowns forced many businesses to close, with non-domestic consumption dropping by 11.1 per cent. It means overall electricity use dropped by 4.8 per cent – the largest year-on-year fall on record.