The Conservative Party has said that if elected it would change Post Office Accounts to help the fuel poor reduce their outgoings by up to £100 each year.

By allowing people without standard bank accounts – and therefore no way of taking out direct debits, which often reduce energy bills – to use their Post Office Card Account (POCA) to pay their bills, the Conservatives believe they can help 4 million people.

This forms part of the party's action plan on post offices, and is supported by Glenrothes by-election candidate Maurice Golden. The other points on the plan include allowing post offices to offer some commercial services to improve profitability, and encouraging councils to use post offices to deliver their services.

"Under Conservative proposals, POCA would be reformed so that they can be used for the first time to pay utility bills using the equivalent of a direct debit. This proposal, which has support from leading utility companies, will generate significant savings for energy companies through lower collection costs, which can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower bills," Golden said.

"The Conservatives have been working with industry to develop this sensible and fair policy. This is a significant weapon for attacking the growing pain of fuel poverty. Price rises have hit the poorest hardest. This is a scheme that would target the most vulnerable in a focused and practical way.

"In addition, I will continue to hassle the Labour Government to come clean about its plans for the future of these card accounts, as there are growing fears that the Post Office might lose the contract and in turn be forced to close even more local post offices," he added.

Following a 12-week Government consultation the Post Office announced last year it would close up to 2,500 branches, while working to ensure 99 per cent of the population lives within three miles of a post office.