Derbyshire-based company estimates shop bosses face whooping £27 million electricity bill for keeping tree lights on after hours

UK retailers will on average use enough energy to boil 18.5 billion Brussels sprouts on December 25 by keeping Christmas tree lights on out of hours, a leading energy management company estimates.

Derbyshire-based t-mac Technologies has calculated the total cost to retailers of getting window shoppers in the festive spirit could be as much as £27 million.

Lisa Wilkinson, t-mac Technologies Director, said: "This goes to show that the cost to UK retailers of bringing that extra bit of Christmas cheer to shoppers is astronomical.

"One way to reduce the cost would be to ‘power-down’ the lights on Christmas trees after hours, saving shop owners and bosses millions of pounds and making a big difference to the environment by reducing their carbon emissions."

t-mac Technologies’ products help UK businesses identify energy waste and consumption, helping to manage their carbon footprint.