Energy secretary ‘certain as he can be’ gas will stay on this winter

The government’s energy secretary has said he is as “certain” as he can be that gas supplies will stay on this winter.

Speaking on Sunday morning Kwasi Kwarteng also ruled out lifting the energy price cap in the spring, a move called for by energy companies to let them raise prices, and said there would no prospect of imposing a new green levy on heating bills for at least a year during the crisis.

“I’m very committed and convinced that we will have full energy supply,” Mr Kwarteng told Sky News.

“I’m as certain as I could be. Because obviously this is a global issue, we’ve seen right across the world real supply chain pressures, you’ve seen the Chinese have power blackouts, they’re rationing supply, here in the UK our job is to make sure there is minimal disruption.”

Asked whether a green levy would, as reported, be imposed on gas bills, he told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “We’re not going to do that, certainly, in the period of the next price cap.”

And asked whether he was absolutely sure that the lights would stay on this winter, he said: “Yes, I am.” In contrast to the minister’s confidence, Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck said that that the industry was “worried” about some of its customers.

“I don’t actually know what the consequences for commercial users will be, though they are more exposed to the prices and they have to buy energy at the price we’re seeing on the market and the same for some of our generators,” she told Sky News.

“I will tell you our members are increasingly worried about those customers, and on top of that I think it’s less clear what will happen to business customers – everything from your local corner shop through to manufacturers of steel.

“So I think it’s right [Kwasi Kwarteng] is talking to the energy-intensive users, but we would also like to see a bit of a focus on commercial customers as a whole, and thinking imaginatively about each kind of commercial customer and what sort of support they might need – but yes of course, we’re worried.”

Mr Kwarteng’s television appearances on Sunday appear to have caused some consternation in government. The cabinet minister had said he was engaging with the Treasury on ways Rishi Sunak’s department could help the energy industry, but a Treasury source told Sky News: “This is not the first time the BEIS secretary has made things up in interviews. To be crystal clear, the Treasury are not involved in any talks.”

The barbed exchange prompted a response from Labour. Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “In the teeth of a crisis of its own making, the government has put its out-of-office on. The prime minister has gone on holiday, no one knows where the chancellor is, and this morning we understand the business secretary has entered the realms of fantasy.

“The two key government departments responsible for the current cost of living crisis have spent this morning infighting about whether they were in talks with each other. What a farce. If government ministers can’t even tell the truth about each other, then what hope do we have for the challenges facing our country?

“We need urgent answers on who exactly is running the show. The government needs to get a grip because the British people are paying the price for the prime minister’s incompetence.”