Liz Truss has ruled out launching an energy-saving campaign amid warnings planned blackouts could hit the UK this winter.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg is believed to have backed a £15 million campaign this winter, with the Times reporting the idea was blocked by No 10.

It added 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 advising people to turn off the heating when they go out.

The newspaper quoted a Government source describing the campaign as a “no-brainer” and said No 10 had made a “stupid decision”, but it added Ms Truss is said to be “ideologically opposed” to such an approach as it could be too interventionist.

 

A Government source approached by the PA news agency said they were not denying the report contained in the Times.

Asked to comment on the report, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy issued a statement on behalf of the Government in which it insisted ministers are not launching a campaign and “any claim otherwise is untrue”.

Prime Minister Ms Truss earlier sought to downplay concerns although stopped short of explicitly offering a guarantee of no blackouts.

Her remarks came in response to a report from the body that oversees Britain’s electricity grid.

In what it called an “unlikely” scenario, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said that households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages to ensure that the grid does not collapse.

Bournemouth Echo: PAPA (Image: PA)

A Government spokesman said: “The UK has a secure and diverse energy system.

“We have plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter, in light of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

“To strengthen this position further, we have put plans in place to secure supply and National Grid, working alongside energy suppliers and Ofgem, will launch a voluntary service to reward users who reduce demand at peak times.

“We will continue to work internationally on tackling rising energy prices and ensuring security of supply, but there are no current plans to follow the EU’s decision.

“However, ministers are not launching a public information campaign and any claim otherwise is untrue.”

National Grid warn of potential UK blackouts

The first planned blackouts in decades might hit parts of the country if power plants can’t get enough gas to keep them running, the National Grid have warned.

Households are being encouraged to help avoid blackouts by using more energy during off-peak times.

In the “unlikely" scenario of planned blackouts, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said that households and businesses may face three-hour outages to ensure the grid does not collapse.

It is the most dire of three possible scenarios that the ESO laid out on Thursday for how Britain’s electricity grid might cope with the worst global energy crisis for decades.

In the other two scenarios, the operator hopes that by paying people to charge their electric cars at off-peak times and firing up backup coal plants it can offset the risk of blackouts.

The margins between peak demand and power supply are expected to be sufficient and similar to recent years in the National Grid Electricity System Operator’s (ESO) base case scenario for this winter.

But in the face of the “challenging” winter facing European energy supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the grid operator is also planning for what would happen if there were no imports of electricity from Europe.