The prime minister said she supported energy efficiency measures but would not encourage people to use less energy this winter as other countries – such as Germany – have done. After winning the Tory leadership race on September 5, Ms Truss outlined her plans to tackle rising energy bills, including an energy price guarantee to limit how much suppliers can charge for each unit of energy. Green levies will also be deducted from bills and the government will pay for both measures by borrowing. Speaking en route to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (Unga) on Tuesday, Ms Truss said: “We are not talking about [the] distribution of energy”. She added that she supported her predecessor Boris Johnson’s view that higher energy bills to stand up to Russia over Ukraine were a price worth paying. “It is right that we cannot compromise our security for the sake of cheap energy,” the prime minister said. “This is the mistake the entire Western world made,” he added. “There has been an over-reliance on authoritarian regimes, not only for energy supply, but also for other critical minerals and other goods and so on. “What we cannot allow to happen is that this cost is passed on to citizens in the UK.” He added: “We will be putting in place an energy price guarantee to make sure people can get through this winter and next winter without those very high bills that we feared.” Read more: What is the energy price guarantee? Spending more on military aid to Ukraine ‘will lower energy bills’ Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 2:27 Ed Conway looks at how much the energy plan could cost The prime minister has made it her mission in New York to encourage other countries to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. He said “the number one issue is global security” but reiterated that he did not want to pass the buck on to the British people. “It’s a price worth paying for Britain because our long-term security is paramount,” the prime minister added. “What I don’t want to happen is it gets passed on to bill payers beyond this energy price guarantee that I’ve outlined. I don’t think that’s right.” Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts Attacking previous governments, Ms Truss said there should have been “more investment 20 years ago in nuclear power, for example”. “That’s why we need to make sure we guarantee people aren’t paying unaffordable fuel bills,” he said.
