Michael Gove urges Liz Truss to consider energy rationing for firms

theguardian.com:

Michael Gove has urged Liz Truss to reconsider energy rationing for businesses this winter, after she rejected the idea at Wednesday’s final Tory leadership hustings.

Gove said the UK should follow other European countries in urging companies to show restraint in their use of electricity and gas.

While he admitted it was “not something that would come naturally to me or any Conservative”, he said Truss, who is expected to win the leadership contest and become prime minister next week, should prioritise ensuring there is enough energy for households during the worsening cost of living crisis.

Truss has been under pressure for a week to reveal what extra support will be offered to people who will struggle to pay their bills after it was announced that the energy price cap would jump by 80% in October. Further rises are expected in January and April.

While she has reiterated her preference for temporarily scrapping green levies on energy bills and reversing the controversial national insurance hike, Truss has remained tight-lipped about the prospect of extra support payments and disparaged the idea of “handouts”.

At the final hustings in London, her rival, Rishi Sunak, said “we shouldn’t rule anything out”, after the French government warned it might have to ration energy and urged company bosses to take steps to curb consumption. But Truss rejected the proposal.

Gove, who is supporting Sunak, said “nobody likes the idea of rationing” but added: “If we look at our European neighbours and others, there have been some restrictions on the use of energy in non-domestic settings.”

Though he said he was opposed to “individuals rationing energy”, Gove cautioned: “It may be the case that in certain non-domestic settings, that there needs