Thread by @NationalWorld

🔵 NEW: The head of the UK’s electricity and gas systems’ operator has outlined the “worst case scenario” which could see UK households facing three-hour blackouts this winter.

nationalworld.com/news/uk/when-b…

🗣 #NationalGrid boss John Pettigrew said blackouts would have to be imposed in the “deepest darkest evenings” in January and February if electricity generators did not have enough gas to meet demand, particularly if there is a bout of cold weather.

Pettigrew was speaking at the Financial Times #EnergyTransitionSummit, although he remained confident that scheduled blackouts will not be needed.

Pettigrew has told households to prepare for blackouts between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays during “really, really cold” days.

🇺🇦 Pettigrew said: “In the context of the terrible things that are going on in #Ukraine and the consequences of that [it was] right that we set out what some of the potential risks could be."

It marks the first time since the initial warning from the ESO that there has been explicit discussion of what time blackouts may take place.

Any plans for scheduled power cuts will need to be approved by the government and #KingCharlesIII before it could come into fruition.

❌ Are there any plans to help prevent blackouts?

The National Grid plans to create a demand flexibility service, set to come in next month, that will offer financial incentives for switching #energy usage to off-peak hours.

🪫 It means that people could be paid to run their washing machines at night, or charge their electric cars away from times of high demand.

The money-back service is to be implemented by energy suppliers and monitored using a smart metre, with a minimum reward of £10 per day.

The voluntary scheme is scheduled to run from November to March. Without it there could be cold and still days creating high demand and low levels of wind power, meaning there may be a need to interrupt supply to customers for limited periods.

nationalworld.com/news/uk/when-b…