Consumer energy advice organisation energyhelpline.com has called for a review of government electricity and gas buying policy after a Freedom of Information request it carried out revealed that the energy bill for Home Office ministry headquarters is more than £1 million a year, according to its own official figures. For 2009-10, the cost of electricity at the ministry’s nerve centre in Westminster was £1 011 302 and £39 300 for gas. The figures were released following a FI request to various government departments on behalf of independent price comparison website energyhelpline.com. The Home Office takes its electricity from EDF and its gas from Corona Energy.

Mark Todd, its director, said: “These figures will be fuel to the fire of those taxpayers who are angry about the levels of public spending and possible waste in Government departments.

“After the [national] election [due on 6 May] the new administration is going to have to make cuts and they could do a lot worse than investigating the amount departments pay for their energy, reviewing what energy tariffs they are on and examining ways of using energy more efficiently.”

Other departments which responded to the Freedom of Information request about energy costs at their headquarters included the Foreign Office (£819 186 on electricity (EDF) and £7256.96 on gas (E.ON)), the Department for Transport: (£613 923 electricity (EDF) and £15 896 for gas (Corona Energy)) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (£536 959 electricity (EDF) and £31 380 for gas (Corona Energy)).

Todd added: “It would also be interesting to know why Government departments are using different energy suppliers. Surely, they need to identify the cheapest deals and sign up to them? And why does the The Department of Energy and Climate Change use different suppliers to every other department?”

In their reply the Home Office said: “To help us meet…targets the Department is working with the Carbon Trust to identify appropriate measures, including investment measures, to reduce consumption at those buildings which are high energy users and to better monitor progress in financial and environmental terms.”