Millions of UK households could face three-hour rolling power cuts under new emergency rules giving the National Energy System Operator (NESO) greater authority to respond to severe electricity shortages.
The new Demand Control Rotation Protocol allows NESO to introduce controlled regional blackouts with at least eight hours’ notice, without requiring prior government approval.
The measures are intended as a last resort when other options for balancing electricity supply and demand have been exhausted. Critical infrastructure including major hospitals, water treatment facilities and military sites would be protected.
Under the system, electricity demand is divided into blocks that can be disconnected and rotated around the country. Depending on the severity of a shortage, multiple areas could lose power simultaneously.
Ofgem backed the changes, arguing that rotating outages would improve system resilience and distribute disruption more fairly.
The move comes amid increased scrutiny of Britain’s electricity network and the challenges of balancing supply as variable wind and solar generation accounts for a growing proportion of the energy mix.
NESO stressed that the protocol is designed only for “the most extreme and unlikely circumstances”, while the Government said it remains confident in Britain’s security of electricity supply.
