Redcar shows need for efficient UK energy | Letters

The closure of Redcar steelworks (Report, 13 October) shows the importance of boosting energy productivity to tackle high energy costs. Over half (54%) of the energy used in electricity is lost before it even reaches us, and is worth 9.5bn annually - enough to pay half the electricity bill of every home in Britain. Wasted energy reduces our productivity and undermines efforts to create a competitive, modern economy. With energy costs on an upward trajectory and ever tightening carbon budgets, urgent action is needed. New analysis identifies how to cut much of this waste and save bill payers more than 3.9bn a year.

How? By focusing on a best-value energy policy, improving energy productivity and giving businesses a simple policy to leverage investments in energy efficiency. Unlocking energy productivity will strengthen the economy and protect jobs. Carbon emissions will decline. The environmental impact of new energy infrastructure will reduce. Energy costs will go down. Businesses will be able to do more with less. As the secretary of state for energy and climate change, Amber Rudd, approaches her planned energy policy "reset" and the comprehensive spending review, now is the right time to transform this wasteful inefficiency into a huge growth opportunity for the UK economy.