The UK is like a chubby child with a feverish appetite for chocolate biscuits, only to feed this particular country-shaped beast, you need a steady supply of electricity and gas.

However, one government-sponsored thinktank has announced that the UK could cut its electricity demand by as much as 40 per cent by the year 2030 - but it's not a target that will be met under current reforms.

That's according to McKinsey and Co., which commissioned a draft report on the subject and made its first speculative announcements on the UK energy crisis this week.

According to McKinsey, 155 terawatt hours could be saved by reducing energy demands on the system through a collective effort, and in doing so reduce the need to develop what it views as 'risky' electricity generating solutions.

And 58 TWh of that reduction could come from residential properties alone, according to the report.

Figures, published this week by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), show current planned reforms will only realise 54 TWh of the country's potential energy savings, and that a concerted effort on commercial and residential buildings alike could contribute a greater overall dip in demand.

"We believe that there is significant potential for greater efficiency in the use of electricity in the UK," said the report. "On the current trajectory, including existing policy, the UK is likely to only realise some of this potential."

Simple measures cited by the report to reducing energy demand include insulating residential homes, investing in energy-saving LED lighting and more efficient appliances.

In the commercial sector, the report suggests lighting controls and better heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) measures could make a 45TWh difference - just 15 per cent of that figure is projected to be achieved through existing measures.