A small village near Leeds, West Yorkshire with a population of around 4,000 people could potentially help the UK save up to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Northern Powergrid has launched a trial that will see the small village use smart-meter-led technology to lower energy bills and reduce emissions of local homes.

The electricity distribution network operator plans to collect data from local smart meters and will assess them to optimise the network voltage.

This optimisation could help local customers reduce their energy consumption.

If the systems could be deployed nationally, an estimated £500 million could be saved on customers’ energy bills, the company estimated.

Iain Miller, Head of Innovation at Northern Powergrid, said: “Innovations such as this are a key enabler of our plans to support net zero.

“We are excited to see our smart technology deliver real benefits to our customers and help free up more capacity to decarbonise our region.”