THE amount of gas and electric Barnsley residents are using has fallen since the pandemic, the latest figures have revealed.

Figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero show residents of Barnsley used a total of 1,184 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas in 2023.

This was up from 1,150 GWh in 2022, but down 16 per cent from 1,406 GWh in 2019.

Meanwhile, households in the area used 325 GWh of electricity in 2023 - a rise from 312 GWh in 2022, but a seven per cent drop from 350 GWh in 2019.

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said the reduction could be ‘caused by many factors’ including better energy efficiency and improved insulation.

However, he warned it may not all be good news.

Mr Francis said: “Research has found that households in fuel poverty are reducing their energy consumption to dangerously low levels.

“Some of the UK’s poorest households use 21 per cent less energy during cold weather than other households, leaving them exposed to potentially dangerous, cold and damp homes.

“With energy bills rising again on January 1, it is ever more urgent that the government combines investment in long term measures to tackle fuel poverty with short term support for struggling households.”