Detailed plans that show when households could suffer blackouts this winter are revealed in Government documents.
The National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) has warned Brits could face three-hour planned power cuts if there is a shortage of gas this winter.
This was the worst-case scenario presented in a report last month - but system operators insist it is “unlikely” we’ll run out of power.
Blackouts would be most likely happen on weekday evenings in January and February when it is particularly cold, according to National Grid boss John Pettigrew.
Documents that were created before the current energy crisis show which households could be hit by a power cut - and when.
These are described as a "default plan" for blackouts, meaning they could be subject to change.
The Electricity Supply Emergency Code (ESEC) allows the Prime Minister to introduce blackouts to protect electricity supplies.
But other steps would be implemented first before this happens.
In the first step, the public would be asked to reduce their power consumption.
The second step would see certain restrictions imposed on energy suppliers - for example, they could also be asked to cut back on useage.
The final stage would be rolling blackouts - or “rota disconnections” - for UK households.
Each distribution area across the UK is split into 18 “load blocks” which would take it in turns to be disconnected.
“Load blocks” act a bit like postcodes.
Each one is assigned a letter between A and U, except for the letters F, I and O, which are not used.
Some energy suppliers list your “load block” on your energy bill - it is usually represented as a letter in a box - although not all of them do this.
If you can’t find it on your bill, you should be able to call your energy firm to find out.
Properties close to yours would potentially not experience a blackout at the same time as you if they have a different “load block”.
On the documents, each day of the week is split into eight three-hour slots.
The slots start from 12.30am until 3.30am and end 9.30pm until 12.30am the following morning.
There are then 18 different levels of disconnection - each gradually increasing the number of blackouts per week, with one being the least severe and 18 being where supplies are completely cut off.
Level 9 is the first where houses will spend more time without power than with it.
It's unlikely that the country would reach the highest level - and of course, there might not be any blackouts at all.
You can see what would happen under level one in the box above.
To give you an example of when you could experience a blackout, let’s say you’re in “load block” A and there is a level one disconnection.
The documents show you could have a power cut on Monday at 12:30am to 3:30am, Wednesday at 3:30pm to 6:30pm, and Sunday at 12:30am to 3:30am.
