Brits could be told to cut down on their energy use this winter in an official government campaign to reduce risk of blackouts, it’s reported.
Ministers are drawing up plans for a public information blitz to encourage people to turn down thermostats and turn off TVs instead of leaving them on standby, according to The Times.
Ministers are concerned that Liz Truss’s plan to put a cap on bills will mean demand is not reduced as supply tightens, it is reported.
Under Boris Johnson, Downing Street insisted people should not panic or cut back on their energy use.
A spokeswoman for the PM said last month: "These decisions, in terms of energy consumption, remain decisions for individuals. Households, businesses and industry can be confident that they will have the electricity and gas that they need.”
But Nadhim Zahawi - who has been given a job in Liz Truss’s Cabinet - later said: “The reality is that we should all look at our energy consumption. It is a difficult time.
"There is war on our continent.
"Very few people anticipated war. Wars happen in far-flung places. It is now here with us. We have to remain resilient. My responsibility is to deliver that help."
Germany’s government has warned a “nationwide effort is needed” to cut reliance on Russian gas, with minimum room temperatures in public buildings cut to 19C and foyers and lobbies left unheated.
Some public swimming pools in Germany will also be left unheated and fewer public landmarks will be lit up at night.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told The Times: "There is a logic to people reducing energy use when there's a shortage and prices are high.
“A top priority of the government ought to be encouraging people to use less energy.
"If the price doesn't go up to reflect the market price, in the end people won't respond.”
Taxpayers will foot the bill as Liz Truss writes a “blank cheque” to oil and gas giants making £170billion in excess profits from the energy crisis.
The new PM will announce in Parliament today that she is capping bills at around £2,500 a year.
But she refuses to impose a windfall tax on the energy companies to fund her decision. Instead, she is likely to slap more borrowing on the national debt, raising fears of even more Tory cuts in public services.
Labour ’s Shadow Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Every penny her Government refuses to raise in windfall taxes is money that they will be loading on to the British people for years to come.”
