Emergency plans to help prevent a potential blackout could be introduced as soon as tomorrow. The National Grid has said it will decide by 2.30pm today whether to activate its Demand Flexibility Service which rewards people for using less power on Tuesday.
It is understood issues with the cold weather along with problems with France's nuclear power plants is seeing a spike in short-term supplies and prices. According to The Mirror, the scheme has been tested twice in the past fortnight but has not yet been operated as a live event.
A spokesperson for National Grid ESO said: "What has happened is that the ESO has issued an indicative notice on BMRS to alert demand flexibility service providers that we may issue a requirement at 2:30pm for the use of DFS tomorrow night.
"We’re still assessing what requirement we might need, so it’s still possible that we will issue a requirement for 0MW at 2:30pm that will stand down the use of the DFS tomorrow night."
The Demand Flexibility Service was announced earlier this month. It aims to ease stress on the grid by spreading out demand for power away from peak times.
The National Grid had previously issued a warning to UK households that blackouts could become a reality as winter hits its peak and icy weather bites. John Pettigrew, National Grids CEO, said this was a "worst-case scenario", but the government has nonetheless been creating emergency plans to cope with the energy blackouts.
These could last up to seven days in the event of a national power outage as worries grow over the security of supplies. The government is currently stress-testing Programme Yarrow, a confidential plan put in place for power outages.
This pre-dates the current energy crisis hitting millions of households and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as it was instead created in 2021 in an effort to improve planning in the event of a major fault on the National Grid. According to The Guardian that will see ministers focusing on getting food, water and shelter to the young and elderly people, alongside those with caring responsibilities, should the country experience blackouts.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
