Prime Minister rules out energy-saving information campaign - despite blackout warning

Liz Truss has ruled out launching an energy-saving public information campaign, amid warnings planned blackouts could hit the UK if power plants cannot get enough gas to keep running.

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.

READ MORE:Andy Burnham demands Avanti trains ultimatum after passengers hit by months of chaos

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.

A