It is believed that under the Government's latest "reasonable worst case scenario", businesses and potentially households could face energy rationing and blackouts in January if cold weather and gas shortages combine, resulting in a dwindling energy supply.
Under the scenario, the gap in power supply could be around one sixth of the peak demand, even after coal power plants are brought back online. In such a case, the Government would put in place emergency measures to conserve gas, which will last for four days in January. Initially, network operators would override commercial agreements to direct gas flows on the system. Then supplies to gas-fired power stations would be halted. This, in turn, would lead to power cuts for some businesses and homes.
Whilst the Government insists that such a scenario is unlikely to materialise, even the possibility that this could happen increases anxiety over energy this winter, especially as energy costs for businesses and households are expected to soar.
A source at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that Government has to prepare for every potential scenario, but this one is unlikely to happen because of the UK's "highly secure and diverse gas and electricity system".
