An automated alert warning of blackouts sparked fears that homes could be without power this evening.
The warning from the National Grid, which said the grid's capacity was "tight", worried householders that their homes could have power issues at 7pm tonight. The alert was issued at 2.33pm today and warned that there would be a tight margin when consumption would naturally increase as people come home from work and school.
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However the National Grid later took to Twitter to advise families that the alert had been cancelled. National Grid ESO wrote: "The ESO has now withdrawn the Capacity Market Notice issued at 2:33pm today." Earlier today, it had said on Twitter: "The ESO is confident that electricity margins are sufficient for this evening. However, a capacity market notice (CMN) has been triggered by the automated system. CMN forecasts are issued automatically and are only based on information in the public domain. They do not take into account all the factors which our engineers are working on."
The National Grid issues warnings when supplies are likely to be under pressure. This comes when insufficient power is being generated to supply the demand across the country.
The National Grid website says: "The notices are intended to be a signal that the risk of a System Stress Event in the GB electricity network is higher than under normal circumstances."
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