Households have been warned about the possibility of three-hour planned blackouts this winter. However, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) described the blackouts as being the "worst-case scenario" in a report last month.
But on Tuesday (Nov 22), fears rose after an alert from the ESO was issued - before being cancelled moments later. The warning said that due to "tight" capacity homes could lose power at around 7pm.
It wrote on Twitter: "The ESO has now withdrawn the Capacity Market Notice issued at 2:33pm today." Any forced cut off would most probably be in the evening, when power demand peaks.
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As reported by the Mirror, John Pettigrew, CEO of the National Grid, recently confirmed this at the Financial Times' Energy Transition Summit. He said blackouts would most likely happen "between 4pm and 7pm in the evenings on those weekdays when it’s really, really cold in January and February".
The ESO is trialling a new Demand Flexibility Service, where households with a smart meter can be paid to use energy outside of peak hours. Those who are signed up will be sent a message, asking them to reduce or shift when they use electricity in a certain evening hour on a particular day. The move could see households having to avoid using power-hungry appliances - for example, the washing machine or tumble dryer - during a specified time.
If power cuts were thought necessary, households and businesses would be given 24 hours’ notice. How widespread it would be depends how much network operator companies are asked to cut demand.
The possible blackouts come in response to the current energy crisis, with gas and electricity supplies running low. Experts have said Putin's invasion of Ukraine has played a big part in this.
In a bid to conserve as much power as possible ahead of the arrival of winter, homeowners are being urged to reduce their energy usage at home. This includes, if possible, avoiding using power during peak hours, having showers instead of baths and turning down the thermostat on your boiler.
While it is normal for homeowners to get compensation if their supply goes off. It is not clear how this might apply to planned mass cuts of this kind. As these will be planned and households told beforehand, it's unlikely there will be compensation.
For those who are most vulnerable, network operators will be tasked with ensuring such customers are protected. How that would happen has not been fully spelt out. The same goes for care homes and other vital infrastructure.
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