Warm air disappeared through the open doors of shops and into the winter sky on the same day up to a million UK householders and businesses were paid to use less power to avoid blackouts. Some shops operate an open door policy to welcome customers and help signal their premises are indeed open.
There is nothing wrong with that, but some people might find it rather odd when gas and electricity prices have gone through the roof and we're being encouraged not to waste energy. Around a third of shops on Swansea's Oxford Street had their doors open on January 23 - the day National Grid activated a measure allowing customers from 26 suppliers to receive discounts by cutting their electricity use between 5pm and 6pm.
The grid operator even ordered three coal-fired power stations to begin warming up in case they were needed to generate electricity due to a spike in demand but they were subsequently stood down. National Grid, which repeated the discount offer for low-use households on January 24, has insisted that people should not be worried. But the blackout-avoiding measure seems to jar with the sight of open doors leaking hot air from our high streets.
