from Truss has ruled out launching an energy-saving public information campaign amid warnings that planned blackouts could hit the UK if power plants can’t get enough gas to keep running.
Company Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is believed to have supported a £15 million campaign this winter, with the Time reporting the idea was blocked by No. 10.
It added that the campaign was seen as “light touch” and included measures designed to help people save up to £300 a year, including lowering the temperature of boilers, turning off radiators in empty rooms and advise people to turn off the heating when they go out.
The newspaper quoted a Government A source describes the campaign as a “no-brainer” and said No. 10 had made a “stupid decision”, but added that Ms Truss would be “ideologically opposed” to such an approach as it could be too interventionist .
A government source approached by the PA news agency said they did not deny the Times report.
Asked to comment on the report, the Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy issued a statement on behalf of the government insisting that the ministers are not launching a campaign and that “any claim otherwise is not true”.
Prime Minister Ms. Truss previously tried to downplay the concerns, although she made no explicit guarantee that there were no blackouts.
Her comments came in response to a report from the UK’s power grid oversight body.
In what it called an “unlikely” scenario, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said households and businesses could face planned three-hour outages to ensure the grid doesn’t collapse.
A government spokesman said: “The UK has a secure and diverse energy system.
“We have plans to protect households and businesses in every possible scenario this winter, in light of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
“To further strengthen this position, we have plans in place to secure supplies and National Grid, in partnership with energy suppliers and Ofgem, will launch a volunteer service to reward users who reduce demand during peak hours.
“We will continue to work internationally to tackle rising energy prices and ensure security of supply, but there are currently no plans to follow the EU’s decision.
“However, the ministers are not launching a public information campaign and any claim otherwise is not true.”
Planned blackouts hit the UK in the 1970s in response to miners’ strikes and the oil crisis.
There have also been major unplanned power outages during storms, including in 1987 when more than 1.5 million people were left in limbo.
But the lights will remain on this winter unless the gas-fired power stations that produced 43% of Britain’s electricity last year can’t get enough gas to keep working.
It’s the most dire of three possible scenarios ESO laid out on Thursday for how the UK’s electricity grid could cope with the worst global energy crisis in decades.
In the other two scenarios, the operator hopes that by paying people to charge their electric cars during off-peak hours and by turning on backup coal plants, the risk of power outages can be offset.
Ms Truss, pressured to guarantee there will be no power outages, told reporters during a visit to the Czech Republic: “What we are clear about is that we have a good energy supply in the UK, we are in a lot of better position than many other countries, but of course we can always do more, which is why I am working here with our partners to ensure that we have a secure energy supply in the future.”
Ms Truss added: “We have a good energy supply in the UK, we can get through the winter, but of course I’m always looking for ways to improve the price for consumers.
“That’s why we introduced the energy price guarantee and make sure we have as much supply as possible.”
Today’s report from National Grid shows our vulnerability as a country as a direct result of a decade of failed conservative energy policies
Ms Truss has previously said she would not tell people to ration their energy consumption this winter, as Russian President Vladimir Putin is restricting gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.
During the Conservative Party leadership contest, Ms Truss also said there would be no energy rationing.
Since then, she has offered a billion-pound price guarantee that will prevent the average annual household bill from exceeding £2,500.
For Labour, shadow climate minister Ed Miliband said: “Today’s report from National Grid shows our vulnerability as a country as a direct result of a decade of failed conservative energy policies.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the government to convene the Cobra Emergency Committee to address the possibility of blackouts.
He said: “If we don’t act now, millions of people could face a power outage while gasoline and heating oil prices spiral even further out of control.”
The margins between peak demand and power supply are expected to be adequate, and comparable to previous years in the National Grid ESO base case for this winter.
But in light of the “challenging” winter facing Europe’s energy supply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the grid operator is also planning what would happen if there were no electricity imports from Europe.
To address an import loss from France, Belgium and the Netherlands, two gigawatts of coal-fired power plants are on standby to start up as needed to meet demand.
National Grid Gas Transmission said separately that while demand for gas will increase this winter, it expects Britain to be able to get enough gas to see it through a “Beast from the East” scenario or a long, cold winter.