Britain battles to keep the lights on
Oct 9, 2022 23:29:26 GMT -5
Post by Shoshanna on Oct 9, 2022 23:29:26 GMT -5
Britain battles to keep the lights on: Consumers will be paid to use washing machines overnight as national grid warns of winter BLACKOUTS - as Duncan Bannatyne's gyms are latest to shut saunas and pubs turn to candlelight in energy cutbacks
Households will be paid to put on their washing machines or charge their electric cars away from peak hours
Customers will be given money back on their bills if they help prevent blackouts by reducing peak usage
Ovo Energy said customers could save £100 if they use energy at off-peak times in the new scheme
It comes as Liz Truss urges European leaders to help 'keep the lights on' in UK amid fears of winter shortages
By JESSICA WARREN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:00 EDT, 6 October 2022 | UPDATED: 12:54 EDT, 6 October 2022
Britain faces blackouts this winter, the National Grid warned today if Russia shuts off gas supplies to Europe and a cold winter hits, as it proposed a new scheme to pay consumers to run their washing machines or charge their electric cars away from peak hours.
They would be the first planned blackouts in decades if power plants cannot get enough gas to keep running, the body that oversees Britain's electricity grid has said.
It is not the first time that the prospect of blackouts has been raised by the energy giant. But this year's warning carries far more urgency as Vladimir Putin keeps the pressure on gas supplies to Europe amid his faltering war in Ukraine.
Today, Prime Minister Liz Truss is urging European leaders at a summit in Prague to help 'keep the lights on' as the standoff with Russia sparks fears of shortages in the coming months.
The PM is calling on groups to agree that gas and electricity connectors between countries must be kept open this winter.
System operators have warned that shortages of gas, which generated 40 per cent of UK electricity last year, could mean planned three-hour blackouts in some areas to protect supplies for heating homes and buildings.
Brits are facing a cost of living crisis as the Government pledged £150billion to keep energy bills capped at £2,500 this winter, while many businesses say they face extinction without further help.
And today an inspection of two of the leaks at the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe has shown signs of sabotage and multiple 'detonations', Swedish authorities said.
The National Grid warning comes as Bannatyne's gyms were the latest to shut their sauna and steam rooms and pubs turned to candlelight in energy cutbacks.
Households are being encouraged to help avoid blackouts, 'save money and back Britain' by using more energy during off-peak times.
It follows a similar trial scheme run by Octopus Energy which saw customers change their habits and alter energy use in a two-hour off-peak window.
The new scheme, being rolled out in November, could see savings of £100, Ovo Energy has told customers.
However the National Grid has already warned of the need to balance the cost of the project with incentives for households, suggesting a rate of 52p per kWh could be applied.
The blackout warning came as:
System operators warned that shortages of gas, which generated 40 per cent of UK electricity last year, could mean planned three-hour blackouts across the country if there is a cold winter this year;
Liz Truss today met Czech prime minister Petr Fiala and spoke about opportunities for future collaboration on securing long-term energy supplies, as she urged European leaders to help keep lights on;
An inspection of two of the leaks at the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe has shown signs of sabotage and multiple 'detonations', Swedish authorities said;
The German ambassador to the UK said: 'Half of the French nuclear power plants are not functioning, and that means, and I think the United Kingdom is one of the electricity importers over winter, that there might be some electricity shortages.'
The blackout warning comes decades after miners strikes and sky-high inflation saw 1970s Britain plunged into darkness as the PM was locked in political battle with the powerful National Union of Mineworkers;
It comes as Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannatyne's gym chain became the latest to announce it will be shutting down posh perks like saunas in a bid to save cash amid the deepening energy crisis.
Bannatyne Health Club and Spa, which has dozens of sites dotted across the UK and is owned by the Scottish millionaire, confirmed it will be scaling back on its facilities.
The news was broken to members of the fitness operator in an email, which revealed that some exercise machines, saunas and steam rooms will be switched off during 'non-peak times'.
And pubs are turning to desperate measures to keep soaring energy bills down, with one in Cornwall even turning off all its lights and replacing them with candles.
In what it called an 'unlikely' scenario, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said that households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages to ensure that the grid does not collapse.
Planned blackouts hit the UK during the 1970s in response to the miners strikes and the oil crisis. There have also been major unplanned outages in storms, including in 1987 when over 1.5 million people were left in the dark.
But the lights will stay on this winter unless the gas-fired power plants that produced 43 per cent of Britain's electricity over the last year cannot get enough gas to continue operating.
It is the most dire of three possible scenarios that the ESO laid out on Thursday for how Britain's electricity grid might cope with the worst global energy crisis for decades.
In the other two scenarios, the operator hopes that by paying people to charge their electric cars at off-peak times and firing up backup coal plants it can offset the risk of blackouts.
The margins between peak demand and power supply are expected to be sufficient and similar to recent years in the National Grid Electricity System Operator's (ESO) base case scenario for this winter.
But in the face of the 'challenging' winter facing European energy supplies following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the grid operator is also planning for what would happen if there were no imports of electricity from Europe and insufficient gas supplies.
To tackle a loss of imports from France, Belgium and the Netherlands, there are two gigawatts of coal-fired power plants on stand-by to fire up if needed to meet demand.
Continued at link
Households will be paid to put on their washing machines or charge their electric cars away from peak hours
Customers will be given money back on their bills if they help prevent blackouts by reducing peak usage
Ovo Energy said customers could save £100 if they use energy at off-peak times in the new scheme
It comes as Liz Truss urges European leaders to help 'keep the lights on' in UK amid fears of winter shortages
By JESSICA WARREN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:00 EDT, 6 October 2022 | UPDATED: 12:54 EDT, 6 October 2022
Britain faces blackouts this winter, the National Grid warned today if Russia shuts off gas supplies to Europe and a cold winter hits, as it proposed a new scheme to pay consumers to run their washing machines or charge their electric cars away from peak hours.
They would be the first planned blackouts in decades if power plants cannot get enough gas to keep running, the body that oversees Britain's electricity grid has said.
It is not the first time that the prospect of blackouts has been raised by the energy giant. But this year's warning carries far more urgency as Vladimir Putin keeps the pressure on gas supplies to Europe amid his faltering war in Ukraine.
Today, Prime Minister Liz Truss is urging European leaders at a summit in Prague to help 'keep the lights on' as the standoff with Russia sparks fears of shortages in the coming months.
The PM is calling on groups to agree that gas and electricity connectors between countries must be kept open this winter.
System operators have warned that shortages of gas, which generated 40 per cent of UK electricity last year, could mean planned three-hour blackouts in some areas to protect supplies for heating homes and buildings.
Brits are facing a cost of living crisis as the Government pledged £150billion to keep energy bills capped at £2,500 this winter, while many businesses say they face extinction without further help.
And today an inspection of two of the leaks at the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe has shown signs of sabotage and multiple 'detonations', Swedish authorities said.
The National Grid warning comes as Bannatyne's gyms were the latest to shut their sauna and steam rooms and pubs turned to candlelight in energy cutbacks.
Households are being encouraged to help avoid blackouts, 'save money and back Britain' by using more energy during off-peak times.
It follows a similar trial scheme run by Octopus Energy which saw customers change their habits and alter energy use in a two-hour off-peak window.
The new scheme, being rolled out in November, could see savings of £100, Ovo Energy has told customers.
However the National Grid has already warned of the need to balance the cost of the project with incentives for households, suggesting a rate of 52p per kWh could be applied.
The blackout warning came as:
System operators warned that shortages of gas, which generated 40 per cent of UK electricity last year, could mean planned three-hour blackouts across the country if there is a cold winter this year;
Liz Truss today met Czech prime minister Petr Fiala and spoke about opportunities for future collaboration on securing long-term energy supplies, as she urged European leaders to help keep lights on;
An inspection of two of the leaks at the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe has shown signs of sabotage and multiple 'detonations', Swedish authorities said;
The German ambassador to the UK said: 'Half of the French nuclear power plants are not functioning, and that means, and I think the United Kingdom is one of the electricity importers over winter, that there might be some electricity shortages.'
The blackout warning comes decades after miners strikes and sky-high inflation saw 1970s Britain plunged into darkness as the PM was locked in political battle with the powerful National Union of Mineworkers;
It comes as Dragon's Den star Duncan Bannatyne's gym chain became the latest to announce it will be shutting down posh perks like saunas in a bid to save cash amid the deepening energy crisis.
Bannatyne Health Club and Spa, which has dozens of sites dotted across the UK and is owned by the Scottish millionaire, confirmed it will be scaling back on its facilities.
The news was broken to members of the fitness operator in an email, which revealed that some exercise machines, saunas and steam rooms will be switched off during 'non-peak times'.
And pubs are turning to desperate measures to keep soaring energy bills down, with one in Cornwall even turning off all its lights and replacing them with candles.
In what it called an 'unlikely' scenario, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said that households and businesses might face planned three-hour outages to ensure that the grid does not collapse.
Planned blackouts hit the UK during the 1970s in response to the miners strikes and the oil crisis. There have also been major unplanned outages in storms, including in 1987 when over 1.5 million people were left in the dark.
But the lights will stay on this winter unless the gas-fired power plants that produced 43 per cent of Britain's electricity over the last year cannot get enough gas to continue operating.
It is the most dire of three possible scenarios that the ESO laid out on Thursday for how Britain's electricity grid might cope with the worst global energy crisis for decades.
In the other two scenarios, the operator hopes that by paying people to charge their electric cars at off-peak times and firing up backup coal plants it can offset the risk of blackouts.
The margins between peak demand and power supply are expected to be sufficient and similar to recent years in the National Grid Electricity System Operator's (ESO) base case scenario for this winter.
But in the face of the 'challenging' winter facing European energy supplies following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the grid operator is also planning for what would happen if there were no imports of electricity from Europe and insufficient gas supplies.
To tackle a loss of imports from France, Belgium and the Netherlands, there are two gigawatts of coal-fired power plants on stand-by to fire up if needed to meet demand.
Continued at link
