I HAVE to acknowledge and commend the courage of the Ukrainian people by standing up to Putin, the little bullying dictator.

In the light of the increasing energy costs and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the British Government should adjust our energy saving schemes to subsidise the installation of solar panels for home owners as the current set-up just creates a merry-go-round of increasing energy costs.

Once households have reduced their energy consumption, it will effectively reduce the profit of the energy company and subsequent dividend pay-outs for the shareholders. So the energy companies increase their prices to keep their shareholders happy at the cost of the homeowners/industrial users.

Money has been wasted on the introduction of smart meters where the first generation meters don’t work with the second generation meters, and now there is an issue where not all properties are suitable for them. Solar panel energy can be stored or fed back into the grid thereby making effective use of the energy and technology. This approach will make a significant contribution to helping the climate and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels wherever they may come from.

Colin Telfer, Darlington.

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