MSP Derek dishes out money-saving tips
A Renfrewshire politician says he’s found the perfect recipe to help families save money on their energy bills.
MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Derek Mackay, took part in a special cookery lesson aimed at showing how much cash households can save using new smart meters.
The event, held at the Scottish Parliament by Smart Energy GB as part of Scottish Health and Food Fortnight, saw Mr Mackay help whip up a tasty stir-fried chicken noodles with spinach dish.
Mr Mackay joined fellow MSPs to watch Liam MacDonough, executive chef in the Scottish Parliament, cook up a special energy saving recipe that he developed to demonstrate that cooking locally sourced, fresh meals for your family doesn’t need to be expensive.
With a serving for four people costing just 5p in energy, the stir-fried chicken noodles is a quick, cost-effective meal.
A smart meter was used to measure the energy costs of cooking the dish, displaying the results in pounds and pence on a digital display.
The recipe was also served in the Scottish Parliament restaurant that day, with Smart Energy GB staff on hand to give energy saving advice to MSPs.
With 7.7 million smart meters already installed across Britain, Mr Mackay is looking forward to seeing smart meters help people to monitor their energy usage across Renfrewshire.
Mr Mackay said:“If you’re cooking at home without a smart meter, you won’t know how much energy you’re using and how much it’s costing you. Through watching the cookery demonstration, I was delighted to see first-hand how smart meters will give us all much more control of what we spend on gas and electricity, and finally put an end to estimated bills.
“I would encourage my constituents to call their energy supplier today and ask for an appointment to get their own smart meter fitted.”