Blackout risk soars as Britain begs France for emergency power

Britain is at growing risk of blackouts after the grid operator spent a record £49 million of billpayer cash in a single day to keep the lights on, and then issued its largest formal plea for emergency power from France.

National Energy System Operator paid £49 million in balancing costs on Wednesday and £39.4 million the day before, provisional figures showed. Most of that money went on firing up extra gas plants in England while wind turbines in Scotland were switched off because the power could not be moved south. The Daily Express reported the grid’s rare requests for continental help, with the Monday evening call the biggest on record and the supply coming from France.

Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie said Labour’s net zero obsession has sent prices soaring and left the country exposed. “Now we face the growing risk of blackouts over the winter. Andy Burnham’s dithering and delaying over the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields has compounded the problem, with Labour neglecting the resources in front of us for fear of offending their own left flank.”

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice put the stakes in plain terms. “Unfortunately, thanks to Britain’s ruinous energy policy over the past decade, the prospect of a return to blackout Britain this winter is back. And it’s all down to, you guessed it, the Government’s dogmatic pursuit of net zero. Believe me, the blackout threat is real … on top of the global humiliation Britain would suffer from power outages, the economic consequences would be disastrous. Financial markets would be disrupted. Billions would be squandered in lost output, spoilt inventory and emergency response expenses. Worse, there is the potential for widespread looting and civil unrest. Meanwhile, hospitals would be forced to rely upon back-up generators and battery banks. Make no mistake, should blackouts occur this winter, people will die as a direct result. All this is, of course, entirely avoidable.”

A country that cannot keep its own lights on without ringing France has already surrendered too much control. Cheap, reliable power is the foundation of a sovereign economy, not a slogan. When turbines are paid to stop and gas is paid to start because the wires are not there, the bill lands on households who never voted for this experiment.

Grid strain and the winter warning

Balancing costs hit a record £505 million in September, according to energy consultancy LCP Delta. The soaring bills have been blamed on the slow build of new pylons and power lines that stop electricity moving freely around the country. NESO bosses are already under pressure after a June heatwave incident that led whistleblowers to allege a near-blackout was being covered up.

Labour MP Bill Esterson, chairman of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee, insisted the UK has not suffered a nationally significant outage in over 20 years and that clean home-grown energy remains essential to cut prices. Jess Ralston of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit argued there is no route back to oil and gas self-sufficiency and that the North Sea has already produced around 90 per cent of its recoverable reserves.

A NESO spokesman said there is no increased risk of electricity blackouts this winter, frequency stayed within limits, and Great Britain’s supplies remain secure. The Government has been contacted for comment. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to decide soon on the Jackdaw North Sea gas field, a step opposition parties have long urged to ease cost-of-living pressure.

Households already paying through the nose now face the real prospect of winter strain caused by policy that shuts down workable generation and then panics when the wind does not blow in the right place. Britain needs power it can switch on, not lectures from the continent.

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