Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has suggested that people should reduce their energy use to prevent the UK being blackmailed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hunt said that “in the end everyone is going to have to take responsibility for their energy bills.”
According to the BBC:
Hunt told MPs on the Treasury Committee:
“We will always be there to help poorer households, the way we do that will change. But for most people we need you to play your part in reducing our energy dependency.
We are saying to people that in the end everyone is going to have to take responsibility for their energy bills and they’re going to have to think about how they’re going to reduce their energy consumption.
Because it is a national mission to make sure that we can’t be blackmailed by people like Putin when they do things that interrupt international energy supplies.”
The war in Ukraine has reduced supplies of Russian gas as Western countries seek to phase out Russian imports and Moscow cuts the amount of gas it supplies to Europe.
Although the UK is far less reliant on Russian gas than mainland Europe, it could still suffer knock-on effects from shortfalls in overall supply.
Energy regulator Ofgem has warned of “a significant risk” of gas shortages this winter due to the war in Ukraine.
