Families have been warned to prepare for evening blackouts during winter if the weather becomes so cold that it eats away at the country's gas supplies. John Pettigrew, the National Grid chief, said blackouts could happen between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays if gas imports are reduced by "really cold" days in January and February.
He told the Financial Times's Energy Transition Summit that the power cuts would happen if electricity generators did not have enough gas to meet demand. The warning followed previous statements from the National Grid that the risk of gas shortages in winter have risen, but this is the first time that there has been explicit discussion about what time blackouts may take place.
Sky News says that Britain gets 40% of its electricity from gas-fired power stations and gas heats the vast majority of homes, and there are fears that extreme cold weather would put a large strain on national electricity supplies. Many European countries face gas shortages this winter due to Russia's war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian gas imports.
The UK does not import gas from Russia but it imports electricity and gas from European countries that rely on Russian gas. The Government has been taking steps to prevent blackouts, including putting coal-fired power stations on standby instead of closing them and creating a service to reward consumers for not using power during peak times.
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