‘Risking blackouts’? How Great Britain’s grid operator was dragged into a political row

Neso’s task of keeping the grid’s electricity supplies stable during the heatwaves was set against the backdrop of a political row. Photograph: Evening_T/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In a control room in Wokingham, Berkshire, staff work around the clock, minute by minute, to align Great Britain’s fluctuating power supplies with its ever-changing demand.

However, as households struggle to adapt to soaring summer temperatures, staff at the government-owned National Energy System Operator (Neso), tasked with keeping the lights on, have faced the kind of challenge usually reserved for the country’s coldest winter nights in recent weeks.