Blackout risk as energy supply warning issued due to freezing temperatures and severe cold weather the UK
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BRITAIN came "within a whisker" of blackout risks on Wednesday as wind power plunged in freezing weather - raising fresh fears about the impact of the Government's net-zero crusade. The UK's grid operator has been accused of failing to predict the peak demand for energy during the recent cold snap and not being transparent with the public about how close we were to blackouts.
![[To keep the lights on, the Grid had to fork out £21million by spending ten times the usual daily rate to ask gas power plants to keep running]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/bgfg2e-electricity-pylons-near-baitings-696684347.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
At the same time, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was slammed for his over reliance on wind and solar power, as he rushes to decarbonise the economy. "This should be a real wake-up call about the dangers of relying on weather-based generation," Kathryn Porter, a respected independent energy consultant, said.
The grid operator, National Energy System Operator (NESO), warned on Tuesday that there was an insufficient buffer to keep the country powered during peak evening demand. Despite weather forecasts predicting freezing temperatures, the Grid had been caught on the back foot as less windy weather made wind turbines less effective.
As cold temperatures affected the whole of Europe, it was also unable to get as much power via interconnectors than it had thought. The grid had assumed that it would be able to import 6.6 Gigawatts during "tight margins" but only 6.26 Gigawatts had been available.
Meanwhile, as Brits followed Health Secretary Wes Streeting's advice to turn on their heating demand for power was 46.8 Gigawatts - 2.4 Gigawatts higher than its peak demand expectation. "This is a huge error", Ms Porter said the risk was at the highest level since 2011 and "had just one power station tripped, demand control would have been a real prospect.".
