Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has admitted he's "deeply concerned" hard-up households will freeze this winter as energy bills rocket.
The top Tory, who is tipped to lose his job next week if Liz Truss wins the leadership race, insisted there would be additional help for Brits - but said nothing would be announced until a new Prime Minister was in place.
Multi-millionaire Mr Zahawi, who once claimed expenses for his stables, admitted existing support is not enough and said "nothing is off the table" for the next PM.
Anger is mounting over the Government's refusal to set out plans to deal with the calamitous hikes to energy bills expected in October, as households reel from spiralling inflation and climbing interest rates.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zahawi was asked: “How concerned are you that people are going to freeze from the cold this winter because they can’t afford to put their energy up?”
“I’m deeply concerned," he replied. "Those people on pre-paid meters, that's why I go back and say to you, my preference is targeting the help."
He dismissed Labour's call to freeze the energy price cap at £1,971 a year - which would mean a planned 80% hike to £3,549 in October would not go ahead.
A similar call by the boss of Scottish Power was also rejected.
Mr Zahawi said: "It's better to target the help for the families that really need it."
Asked if he could guarantee people would not be cut off by energy suppliers if they could not afford their bills, he said: "No one should be cut off because they can’t afford their bills."
He said "nothing is off the table" to mitigate the cost of living disaster facing households.
The Chancellor came under fire this week for jetting off to Washington on a taxpayer-funded jaunt, as Brits panic over how they will get through the winter.
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak made their final pitches to Tory members on Wednesday night, ahead of the announcement of the new PM on Monday.
Ms Truss said she wouldn't impose new taxes and ruled out energy rationing - while her rival Mr Sunak said it couldn't be taken off the table.
Writing in The Sun, Ms Truss gave her strongest hint yet that there would be more help from struggling households, where she vowed to “deliver immediate support to ensure people are not facing unaffordable fuel bills” this winter.
It comes as the boss of Ovo Energy put forward a new plan to limit bill hikes through a Government-backed fund which energy companies could borrow from to subsidise bills.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of the UK's third largest energy supplier, suggested everyone would get some assistance, but higher earners would see the amount of help taper off as they used more energy.
It comes as Boris Johnson was expected to deliver a speech on energy strategy later today, as he winds up his final week in No10.
The new PM will be confirmed on Monday, before taking office on Tuesday.
