Liz Truss’ Conservative government on Friday shelved a campaign to get the British to reduce their energy use, despite a report warning that Britain could face widespread power cuts this winter.
On Thursday, a report by National Grid, operator of the British electricity grid, warned that in an extreme scenario of insufficient gas imports, occasional power outages could occur this winter.
A day later, the word “blackout” appeared on the front pages of every newspaper.
However, when asked by Sky News about the need to force the British to conserve energy, as most European governments would expect, Secretary of State for Climate Graham Stuart assured that the government was “not sending that message”.
The British executive added that “he won’t be asking people to turn things off… …when it makes no difference to our energy security.”
“We think we have a diverse and solid offer in the most likely scenarios, we’ll be fine, but we’re getting ready for anything,” he said.
Stuart initially did not want to confirm the press coverage that pointed to the government’s energy conservation campaign, but was turned down at the last minute by the prime minister.
Truss says he doesn’t want a “nanny state” that follows the ultra-liberal tradition of the British Conservative Party, or telling people what to do.
“We are in a good position compared to our European neighbors. We are not dependent on Russian gas. Almost half of our gas consumption is produced in the UK,” Stuart told Sky News.
However, he said, “this winter brings more risks than before,” due to the war in Ukraine and consequent restrictions on Russian gas supplies.
Stuart also rejected the idea of rationing in an England traumatized by memories of power cuts and power distribution after the oil crisis in the 1970s.
source: Noticias
