![]() ![]() The UK has formulated a “reasonable worst-case scenario” for gas shortages this winter, in which emergency measures could be imposed over four days in January, including organised household blackouts, as Bloomberg revealed this month.Īn industry source involved in emergency planning confirmed to i: “We are taking extra preparations, as you’d expect any prudent operator to do at this sort of time. Around 80 per cent of British homes are heated using gas (Photo: Alex Gottschalk/Getty) ![]() This provided 70 per cent of the UK’s capacity but was shut because the Government decided its maintenance was becoming too expensive – but such are the concerns about this winter, the energy company Centrica is now discussing reopening it. Also, 43.7 per cent of our electricity is generated using gas, according to figures for July, meaning our power network also depends heavily on availability of supplies.īritish households are also exposed because of the country’s low level of gas storage after the closure of the Rough facility in the North Sea in 2017. Only after the failure of all other steps, including using less optimal gas and rewarding industries for using smaller amounts of it, would this happen.īut the invasion of Ukraine, leading to Europe trying to wean itself off Russian gas and Moscow threatening to shut off pipelines altogether, has led experts to warn that the chances of blackouts have risen to the highest in years.Īlthough the UK buys little gas from Russia, it does import 50 per cent of its gas from Europe, which has relied on Russian supplies and so may have less gas to offer us this winter. Even if gas supplies run low, asking the public to reduce gas usage or stop it altogether – and beyond that, turning off electricity and then ultimately gas supplies to homes – are the last resorts. These plans have existed for years, being practiced and revised by the National Grid each autumn, and the Government insists that the probability of blackouts this winter remains highly unlikely. National Grid’s webinar on what would happen in a gas supply emergency, featuring a mocked-up TV news banner (i screenshot) And behind the scenes, many more preparations have been made. Loudhailers on vans and public appeals on social media and TV are all part of the formal emergency plans. This might sound farfetched, but that imaginary TV news banner is taken verbatim from a slide used in an official webinar by the National Grid, seen by i, explaining to power company officials how an energy crisis could unfold and what the industry would have to do. “National Grid declares a gas supply emergency – The UK could run out of gas TODAY!” ![]() Negotiations are underway to secure more gas for the UK, says the PM, and hopefully it will only be for a few hours, but right now we all need to put on another jumper, wrap up and do our bit.Īlong the bottom of the screen flashes up a “BREAKING NEWS” banner. You turn on the TV and BBC One has ditched Homes Under The Hammer for a special announcement from the Prime Minister, explaining from 10 Downing Street that the energy crunch which has been building for days – already resulting in overnight power cuts – has reached a stage we all feared would never come. You look down at your phone and the first thing you see on Facebook and Twitter are new posts from the Government, asking us all to pull together and help conserve what gas the nation has left. As it draws nearer you can hear the voice more clearly – it’s a public appeal for everyone to turn off their boilers and stop using gas. You lean against the window to look outside, feeling an icy chill from the glass on your face, and see a blue and white van with its headlights on, slowly driving down the road with a loudhailer on its roof. On a dark and freezing-cold winter morning, you hear a noise coming from the frosty street outside your home.
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