UK winter energy blackouts: Why could they happen and how would it work?

Evening Standard has published an article saying that households in the UK could lose power for up to three hours at a time in the worst-case scenario. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

National Grid has warned that the UK could face blackouts this winter if gas power plants are not able to keep running due to the energy crisis.

While blackouts are currently unlikely, there is a real possibility energy supply could be interrupted if the energy crisis escalates.

Households could lose power for up to three hours at a time in the worst-case scenario.

When asked by Sky News whether Britain could face blackouts or rationing, climate and energy minister Graham Stuart said: “We don’t expect that to occur. That’s not our expectation at all.

“But you have seen all sorts of things happening in recent weeks and we plan for all eventualities and the public should be confident that we have a very strong and diverse supply, that we have taken all the steps to look after our needs for this winter.”

So what would happen if we did experience blackouts–and what happened when the UK last experienced planned power cuts?

Why could winter blackouts happen?

Winter blackouts could happen if gas shortages and cold weather leave the UK without enough power.

Engineers working on the energy grid need to make sure it is “balanced” at all times.

This means that the amount of electricity being put into the grid by power plants, wind farms and others should match the amount being taken out by households and businesses at any given time.

The grid plans for when it thinks demand can be high so it can ask generators to meet that demand.

But if there is ever an imbalance where demand is higher than supply or supply is higher than demand, it can cause major breakdowns in the grid.

That could cause actual physical damage to the grid that could take days to repair.

If the engineers know there will not be enough supply to match demand, sometimes they need to reduce demand by planned outages to avoid major damage.

Even if coal power plants generate more electricity, there is a chance that the UK may not have enough power to meet peak demand.

If this happens, the government would have to enact emergency measures to conserve power.

How would winter blackouts work?

The network operator would override commercial agreements to direct flows of gas before halting supplies to gas-fired power stations.

As a result, businesses and homes would experience blackouts.

How can we avoid blackouts?

If the blackouts are caused by a lack of supply, then the only way is to reduce demand at particular times.

Most demand happens during peak hours of between 4 pm and 7 pm when people get home from work, put the kettle on, switch on their ovens and sit down to watch TV.

The overall amount of electricity that people use does not have to reduce if they just change their usage to other times of the day.

For instance, electric cars could be unplugged during these hours, switching the dishwasher could wait until 9 pm and you could put the washing machine on earlier in the day or during the weekend.

The grid and energy suppliers will launch a new system in November to pay people if they change the time that they use energy.

The “demand flexibility service” will launch on November 1, when people with smart meters will be notified the day before to use their power at off-peak times.

The National Grid said it hoped this could free up enough energy to power around 600,000 homes if enough companies and households participate.

When were there last winter blackouts?

There haven’t been organised blackouts since the early 1970s when then Prime Minister Ted Heath introduced a three-day working week to conserve energy.

In this instance, the UK didn’t have enough energy following industrial action by coal miners and railway workers, which limited electricity generation.

In 1972, miners went on strike over pay, leading to the Central Electricity Generating Board switching off electricity for up to nine hours a day, impacting both homes and businesses.

The miners, along with other public sector workers, were protesting the cap on pay rises as the government tried to curb high rates of inflation.

Then, in 1973, businesses could only operate for three consecutive days–not including essential services like supermarkets–and TV broadcasts were limited.