{"id":97498,"title":"Millions of UK homes warned of winter blackouts","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2022-05-30T14:36:50+00:00","modified":"2022-05-30T14:53:34+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/millions-of-uk-homes-warned-of-winter-blackouts/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/millions-of-uk-homes-warned-of-winter-blackouts.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/millions-of-uk-homes-warned-of-winter-blackouts.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Energy"],"tags":["Continent","electricity","EU","Europe","fossil","fuel","gas","Imports","Kremlin","Kwasi Kwarteng","Russia","UK","Ukraine","Whitehall"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Stencil-Google-Chrome-2023-04-19-at-2.47.43-PM.jpeg?fit=1231%2C615&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"If the Kremlin cuts off gas supplies to Europe, electricity could be reduced.\n\nMinisters were warned that six million homes could be affected by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.\n\nAccording to The Times, officials from Whitehall have outlined a worst-case scenario that could lead to widespread gas shortages in the event that the Kremlin cut off further supplies for Europe.\n\nThe paper was told by a minister that electricity could be rationed to six million households for morning and evening peak periods for more than one month.\n\nThis scenario raises fears that UK gas imports from Norway could be reduced by more than half due to increased demand on the Continent.\n\nThis model assumes that the UK would cease receiving gas via the Netherlands or Belgium “interconnectors”.\n\nIn order to address the shortages, the government would need to create emergency plans. These could include closing gas-fired power plants and telling heavy industrial users not to burn gas.\n\nThe shutdown of the plants would cause a shortage of electricity. This would force the government to ration supplies during peak weekday hours of 7 am-10 am and 4 pm-9 pm.\n\nAccording to The Times, gas supplies to households will not be affected.\n\nWhitehall has reportedly devised a more severe plan in case Vladimir Putin cuts gas supplies to the EU. This would result in electricity blackouts that could start in December and last three months, even on weekends.\n\nAccording to a Whitehall source, The Times was told by a Whitehall source: “As responsible governments, it is right to plan for every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely. Britain is prepared for any disruptions in supply.\n\n“Unlike EU countries,” our North Sea gas reserves have been pumped at full pelt. Norwegian rigs are directly connected to the UK and we have Europe’s second-largest LNG import infrastructure. Germany does not have any. The EU’s dependence on Putin’s natural gas could make it very difficult for countries on the Continent to survive the winter.\n\nKwasi Kwarteng wrote last month to the owners UK’s remaining coal-fired electricity stations, asking them to extend their hours. Under plans to reduce carbon emissions, the three remaining plants were to close down in September.\n\nThe Business Secretary instructed National Grid’s operator of the electricity system to work with the industry in order to ensure that additional generating capacity is not fuelled by natural gas.\n\nMore than 35pc of the country’s electricity needs are met by gas. Although the UK has not purchased more than 4pc of its natural gas from Russia, it is connected to European markets that heavily depend on Russia’s fossil fuel.\n\nWhile the EU receives about 40% of its gas from Russia, it is working to reduce its dependence. Russia has cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria since the beginning of the war, and there are fears that it may go further."}