Liz Truss has blocked a £15 million energy-saving public campaign which had been signed off by Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The measure would have included newspaper and television ads asking people to take measures like turning off radiators in empty rooms.
It could have saved people up to £300 a year, but The Times reports that Downing Street blocked the proposals.
Liz Truss’ office argued that the information was already available, and the new prime minister is said to be “ideologically opposed” to being seen as too interventionalist.
A Government source told the paper: “It’s a stupid decision. The campaign was entirely practical, it was about saving people money. It wasn’t about lecturing them.”
© ShutterstockThe campaign was described as a “light touch” and had information around lowering temperatures of boilers and advising people to turn off heating when they go out.
It comes as the National Grid warned yesterday of the potential for blackouts this winter should overseas gas imports fall, though this is an “unlikely” scenario.
If that does happen, households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages to ensure that the grid doesn’t collapse.
Britain is not reliant on imports from Russia, but is competing with other countries for imports from the global market to keep the lights on.
Norway’s Equinor plays a critical role in meeting UK gas demand, supplying around 20-22 bcm of gas – or around 25% – annually.
A Government spokesman said: “The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. We have plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter, in light of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.
“To strengthen this position further, we have put plans in place to secure supply and National Grid, working alongside energy suppliers and Ofgem, will launch a voluntary service to reward users who reduce demand at peak times.”
The spokesperson added that there is no plan to launch a public information campaign.