By Nicholas Earl
City A.M. understands Liz Truss backer Jacob Rees-Mogg has been holding late-stage talks with oil and gas companies as the UK looks to secure supplies to stave off a winter crisis.
This comes amid escalating concerns of supply shortages in the coming months, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) factoring in potentially four days of blackouts this winter as an extreme worst-case scenario.
Wholesale prices have spiked in recent weeks to new records across Europe, with Russia squeezing supplies into the troubled continent, cutting Nord Stream 1 gas flows to 20 per cent of capacity.
Meanwhile, Ofgem has finally unveiled the energy price cap for October – announcing that average energy bills will spike 80 per cent to £3,549 per year in just five weeks’ time.
Energy specialist Cornwall Insight predicted the cap will climb over £6,000 next year, peaking at £6,616 next April.
There is confusion over whether Rees-Mogg met oil and gas companies in his role as a Minister or as a supporter of Liz Truss – with multiple Government departments refusing to comment.
Liz Truss’ team has claimed the meetings were set up by Whitehall, and were not linked to her campaign.
However it is unclear why the Brexit Opportunities Minister would be holding the meeting instead of Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng or Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.
City A.M. also understands the Foreign Secretary and Tory leadership frontrunner – who is expected to be named Prime Minister next month – is keen to boost domestic oil and gas supplies and seal more deals with energy firms operating in Norway.
While boosting supplies is unlikely to tame ultra-high prices, it will strengthen UK efforts to fight off blackouts this winter and potential supply crunches.
With Truss reportedly ruling out wider support packages for households, she is under increasing pressure to secure supplies ahead of winter.
The National Grid’s electricity system operator has forecast that the country will have sufficient energy supplies this winter, however this is dependent on purchasing excess power from overseas partners via interconnectors.
Rees-Mogg has been approached for comment.
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