Brits could be told to crack down on their energy usage over the coming weeks, in an official Government campaign to reduce the UK's risk of blackouts.
Ministers are said to be drawing up plans for a public information blitz, encouraging people to turn down thermostats and unplugging appliances at the wall instead of leaving them on standby, according to The Times.
It is said that ministers are concerned that Liz Truss's plan to cap energy bills will mean that demand is not reduced while supply tightens.
Read more: Martin Lewis issues warning to anyone in the UK with a fixed-term energy deal
The Mirror reports that under former PM Boris Johnson, Downing Street insisted that people should not worry or cut back on their energy consumption. 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.”
However, Nadhim Zahawi - who has been handed a Cabinet position under Truss's leadership - later added: "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."
The German government has warned that a 'nationwide effort is needed' to cut out reliance on Russian gas, with minimum room temperatures in public spaces cut to 19C, and foyers and lobbies left unheated. Some public swimming pools will also be left unheated, and fewer landmarks will be lit 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 £170bn in excess profits from the energy crisis. The new PM is expected to announce in Parliament on Thursday 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 add 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.”
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