Grants Shapps, transport secretary, has confirmed that the UK will not be following countries such as Germany in rationing gas if Russia cuts off supplies to Europe, and said it was "not the route we want to go down".
He admitted that the invasion of Ukraine had been a "massive wake-up call" for European countries now trying to find alternative ways to produce energy.
The shadow business secretary said fuel rationing "should be an extreme option" but that "we should be making those plans and the Government should be preparing, not necessarily in public, for that situation".
Shapps indicated that instead of rationing, there may be more offshore wind generated, and appeared to favour this over onshore wind generation. He commented that there may be "places where it's appropriate [but]... by and large, I think it's better to build significant wind power offshore".
He said "I don't favour a vast increase in onshore windfarms for pretty obvious reasons. They sit on the hills there and can create something of an eyesore for communities as well as actual problems of noise as well."
He also spoke about the possibility of nuclear power.
