London

Environmental activists have lined up outside Rishi Sunak's home while donning swimwear, flip-flops, and diving gear — to take a dip in his heated private pool. 

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Greenpeace protesters lined up outside the PM's Grade-II listed manor residence in Richmond, Yorkshire to show their displeasure with the energy-draining pool, reported the Mirror. 

Last month's revelation that Sunak's new heated private pool, which cost £4,00,000 (US$4,93,492) would require an upgrade to the local electricity infrastructure. 

The UK's richest Prime Minister has "failed to upgrade our outdated national grid, which remains unable to deliver the green energy revolution for the rest of us that would lower bills and help tackle the climate crisis," the protesters asserted. They said they wanted to draw attention to his "hypocrisy."

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A smart grid, according to Ofgem (The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority), may save up to £4.7 billion (US$5.8 billion) annually by the end of this decade, which might help lower energy prices. 

According to information provided to lawmakers earlier this month, around 350 public swimming pools have had to close or reduce their operating hours due to rising energy costs. 

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Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, who spoke to the Mirror said, “We're queuing up for the Prime Minister's heated pool because a better electricity grid should be a public good, not the private luxury of millionaires.”

“While Sunak will enjoy doing lengths in his warm pool, the rest of us are stuck with an outdated power network, not fit for purpose, that’s blocking the roll-out of more cheap and clean renewables,” he added.

Greenpeace is pushing the government to pay attention to the energy experts who have warned that if the outdated grid isn't upgraded, they won't be able to roll out renewable energy sources at the rate required to address the rising cost of energy and climate crisis. 

Household costs may soar if the government delays its goal of getting rid of harmful fossil fuels from the power grid by 2035, a Whitehall budget watchdog said earlier this month.

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