Islington Council is looking to insulate buildings, put lights on timers and reduce wasted energy are all on the cards, as energy bills are predicted to rise by £30m this year.

Measures came under the spotlight at an audit committee on September 13, where officers were asked about measures to save energy in the light of fuel prices soaring, partially triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.

Prices starting rising last April with “significant volatility” from September 2021, which meant the council could not wait for prices to fall before buying fuel.

Members recently gave the green light to the council joining a public buying group to get the best price for fuel.

Costs for housing, schools, leisure centres and streetlighting as well as council buildings such as the town hall and library are predicted to soar from £8.8m this year to £39m next year.

Before that the council agreed an energy supply contract with SSE for 2020-24 which allowed it to buy fuel via trades when it chose.

During the first two years of the contract gas was purchased 20 per cent cheaper and electricity 10-12pc less than from other providers.

Committee members wanted to know what could have been done differently if the council joined the group earlier this spring when prices ramped up.

However it was not an option, as the buying group did not have space for Islington to join then.

Committee chair Nick Wayne expressed concern about whether schools or leisure centres might ask for help to pay soaring fuel bills in the future.

Director of finance Paul Clarke said: “I do not see a nightmare scenario.”

Leisure centre provider GLL pays a large part of its energy costs and is monitoring those closely, he said.

Mr Clarke said the borough’s schools face “a challenging financial situation before the energy crisis”.

Many of them are facing falling school rolls which leaves them competing for “too few children” to fill the places.

The committee also discussed measures such like the use of lights in council buildings.

The council is looking at reconsidering building operational hours, cutting energy consumption in plant rooms, replacing street lighting with more energy efficient lights and cutting the use of gas in communal boiler plantrooms in the council’s housing estates.