Dear Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,

This winter, Ofgem and National Grid warned that the UK faced a significant risk of gas shortages, and that power cuts could leave homes without electricity.[1]

But even as energy rationing looms for households, digital billboards continue to use huge amounts of excess electricity to blare out adverts, day and night.[2,3]

Ad screens are surprisingly power-hungry: one large digital screen uses the same amount of electricity as 11 average UK households each year, while smaller ad screens use the same electricity as 3-4 homes.[2,3] The annual electricity use of billboards in Leeds has been estimated to be equal to that of 0.5% of the city’s population.[4]

Switching off digital billboards at night represents an immediate and logical energy saving measure that would save power for households, hospitals and schools where it is really needed. Reducing pressure on an overburdened National Grid will also help to reduce energy bills for households facing unprecedented costs of living.

In Germany, the government has taken steps to switch off all outdoor digital ad screens and illuminated signage between 10pm and 6am, in response to the energy crisis. In Spain, digital signage must now be turned off at 10pm. Similar measures are being taken in France, Austria and across Europe to reduce unnecessary power use. Last year in the UK, Oxford Street's famous Christmas lights saw reduced operating hours to save energy[5] - reducing the operating hours of digital billboards is another natural step.

Higher electricity demand puts pressure on household energy bills and keeping the lights on. High demand also compromises the UK’s ability to transition to renewable energy, by retaining a need for fossil-powered electricity - keeping energy bills high in the long run as well as burning more climate-harming fossil fuels.

We saw during the national mourning for Queen Elizabeth that it is possible to coordinate to turn off screens across the country. Advertising companies who operate digital billboards have also all pledged their commitments to energy efficiency and Net Zero.

The Government can take this easy step to help to reduce unnecessary energy use - showing that their priority is for households and British people, first and foremost.

Yours sincerely, the undersigned,

References
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63155827
[2] https://adfreecities.org.uk/2019/11/the-electricity-cost-of-digital-adverts/
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/09/electronic-advertising-boards-manchester-energy-use-consumption
[4] https://adblockleeds.co.uk/2021/01/17/the-ads-in-leeds-consume-as-much-electricity-as-8000-people/
[5] https://www.cityam.com/oxford-street-to-slash-opening-hours-for-christmas-lights-amid-energy-crisis/