Sources at two power stations, along with government officials, said they were preparing to “game” contingency plans next month and had been asked to review measures to keep Britain’s lights on in the worst-case scenario of dangerously low supplies. They proposed drills in September and October and warned they could be asked to shut down petrol stations to reduce high demand on the grid. Those efforts go beyond typical winter resiliency planning, reflecting the higher risk amid the worsening energy crisis and are more detailed than are outlined in current emergency planning documents, people familiar with the matter said. “We wargame very serious scenarios. These are not improbable scenarios,” said a senior official involved in energy planning. Emergency communications plans are required if the government and National Grid are to take greater control of UK electricity generation, which is usually only the case if there is a high risk of prolonged domestic power outages. “The reality is it’s going to be a very tight winter,” said Nick Wye, director of energy consultancy Waters Wye Associates. “If it is very cold for a long period, we can expect tightness, which may lead to customers being asked to reduce or stop their supplies,” he added. This includes asking gas-fired power generators to “load up” – a process that involves shutting down or curtailing the operation of power stations in an attempt to reduce pressure on energy networks by reducing gas consumption. When asked about the plans, a spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We have one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world and unlike Europe, we are not dependent on Russian energy imports, meaning households , businesses and industry can be sure they will get the electricity and natural gas they need.” However, they did not deny that the UK faced an increased risk of an energy crisis, with a greater chance of power outages for large numbers of consumers. They also declined to comment on the activities of the UK and Ireland Natural Gas Emergency Planning Group, which, according to two people familiar with the group’s activities, is holding extra meetings in an effort to create new plans for emergency exercises. The UK government has emphasized Britain’s relatively low dependence on Russian gas compared to its continental European neighbours. However, there is some interdependence between the UK and Europe in how electricity is supplied. The UK receives some power via interconnections from Norway and France, which power millions of homes each year, according to National Grid. “Norway has said it may have to make do with a share of electricity exports, and France’s output is greatly reduced because nuclear plants are out of service or curtailed because they need critical maintenance,” warned a senior official working on the country’s energy resilience. United Kingdom. “This should be of concern to the UK when this has been the main refresher power for our grid in times of crisis.” Since the Rough subsea gas storage facility closed, the UK has only had 10 days of onshore gas storage, according to industry experts. That would not be enough to prevent the energy bill, which could amount to limited use for more than six hours a day, officials said. “Just forget working from home, this could be ‘home disconnect’ in January,” said one, adding: “There’s no easy way to commit enough energy to keep going.” If electricity supplies from Norway and France fall and natural gas storage runs out, then there is relatively little the UK can do to avoid an energy curtailment, power producers and government sources said. “Power generators are nervous,” Mr Wye said. “Gas storage can only do so much. It is simply not significant enough in volume to support the high domestic demand for natural gas plus additional demand for electricity generation. It’s just not big enough. It’s not the answer.” Officials and ministers have also held meetings in recent days to discuss the risk of mass non-payment of energy bills by consumers, industry sources told The Independent. It comes as energy price forecasts suggest the average UK energy bill could top £5,000 next year, and amid warnings of a prolonged recession. Power producers have also called on the government to review the caps placed on the emissions they produce when burning fossil fuels. Industry sources told The Independent there was a risk they would have to downgrade to avoid breaching strict legal limits on the emissions they could produce this winter.
