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What we are proposing today is a real plan to de-carbonise our economy. It is very necessary.
Greg Clark
The Conservatives are backing a "radical" package of measures to turn the UK into a "low-carbon economy".
In what is described as a UK first, David Cameron was on Friday set to launch the policy exclusively online, as part of a Conservative green paper.
The Tory leader is proposing to cut greenhouse gas emissions through an "intelligent" National Grid network and by installing a 'smart meter' in every home.
Cameron told the Guardian that improving the electricity grid technology in Britain could deliver a "genuinely low-carbon world".
The Conservative-backed 'smart' grid would make energy companies tell consumers where the cheapest rates were for electricity.
It could also be designed to allow customers to feed power back into the electricity network from solar panels.
Cameron described the new technology as "the internet for electricity".
"It is the thing that brings our plans all together, that makes it all possible and will deliver a genuinely low-carbon world," claimed the Conservative leader.
Cameron also stated that the green paper would also contain proposals on green cars, metering waste and renewables.
He added: "All that is brought together in one place because we believe that if you are going to deliver a low-carbon economy you have got to have a vision, you have actually got to have a plan."
Shadow energy secretary Greg Clark told the BBC that the Conservatives want to invest £1bn in improving power distribution by the National Grid.
He explained: "We have a bizarre situation at the moment, where there are energy efficient improvements like insulation and cavity wall insulation that... reduce people's bills, and people aren't taking them up.
"If you ask why that is, sometimes people cannot afford the initial outlay to invest in that."
Instead, Clark is proposing that the energy companies should be required to offer energy-saving insulations immediately.
"You would pay it back over your bill, over a very long period," he explained.
"But because the savings will be immediate, actually, you would never see a charge because you are saving from day one.
"We would say that the energy companies should advance that, and it should be underwritten by the government for a commercial fee, much like our National Loans Guarantee Scheme."
On a basic package of around £1,700 of home improvements, people would save £160 a year on their bills, Clark claimed.
He also argued that it would be a good initiative for a recession because people would save money on their bills "from day one".
Clark continued: "What we are proposing today is a real plan to de-carbonise our economy. It is very necessary."
The Conservative green paper also intends to improve upon the "old fashioned" electricity network.
Clarke explained: "It is stuck in the '50s and '60s - very passive. It has trickled down to consumers. What we should have is an intelligent, interactive network."
"If you have got appliances that don't need to be on at peak time, why not pay less by having them come on at times when electricity demand is lower?
"That allows you to have less wasted capacity in the system."
"What we are setting out today are very radical but achievable steps to help us achieve that."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd