As many as six million British households are at the brink of facing blackouts this winter in case of a gas shortage, per a Sky News report, which cited government modeling of energy fundamentals in the coming heating season.
Based on the modelling, the blackouts come under a worst-case scenario with gas supply shortages in winter if Russia cuts off more supplies to the EU. This involves limits being placed on industrial gas consumption, the report noted. The blackouts would be the result of gas supply rationing to gas-fired power plants.
The energy crunch that began last September has led to a major cost-of-living crisis in the UK, leaving the government scrambling to find a solution while electricity bills soar and are about to soar even more in the fourth quarter.
Focused on protecting consumers from excessively high prices, the UK authorities have installed an energy price cap. However, this price cap was raised substantially this spring to reflect the price context of the energy market. This automatically pushed higher the bills for several million households by 54 per cent.
Currently, bills are about to rise by another 42 per cent when, rather than if, the energy market regulator raises the energy price cap in October 2022. The cap is now at $2,461 (1,971 British pounds) a year, but is likely to rise in October to $3,496 (2,800 British pounds) a year, Ofgem’s chief executive officer Jonathan Brearley said earlier this month.
The cost of living crisis “is going to get truly horrific” in October 2022, when the twice-yearly-adjusted price cap is set to spike again, Keith Anderson, chief executive at one of the largest providers, ScottishPower, told a Parliament committee last month.
“We are seeing an uptick now, but it will get worse—a lot worse—without any further intervention, come October,” Chris O’Shea, CEO at British Gas owner Centrica, told the same committee.
UK Gov’t Fully Prepared for any Scenario
A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy said, as quoted by Sky News, that the UK “has no issues with either gas or electricity supply, and the government is fully prepared for any scenario, even those that are extreme and very unlikely to pass.”
“Thanks to a massive £90bn investment in renewable energy in the last decade, we have one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world, and unlike Europe, we are not dependent on Russian energy imports.”
Government Spokesperson
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has approached the owners of Britain’s coal-fired power stations in Drax, Ratcliffe and West Burton to delay their planned closures in September. A government spokesperson is cited to have said that the request was made owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“It is only right that we explore a wide range of options to further bolster our energy security and domestic supply- bringing down costs in the long-term,” according the spokesperson said.
“While there is no shortage of supply, we may need to make our remaining coal-fired power stations available to provide additional back-up electricity this coming winter if needed. It remains our firm commitment to end the use of coal power by October 2024.”
Government Spokesperson
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