However, National Grid quickly lifted the warning. However, experts warn that this is a warning sign of worse things to come.
The warning comes at a time when temperatures are set to plummet in the coming days as a cold snap sweeps across the UK. The network operator had planned to pay some households to reduce their consumption for one hour from 5.30 p.m. today. The country is going into the winter cold spell with the tightest supply buffer in seven years.
The National Grid withdrew the report and tried to calm down. The operator said on Twitter that they were “confident that the power margins are sufficient for tonight. However, a capacity market announcement (CMN) was triggered by the automated system. CMN forecasts are generated automatically and are based only on publicly available information. They don’t take into account all the factors our engineers work on.
Phil Hewitt, director at energy consultancy Enappsys, told the Daily Telegraph: “This is the first tight day of winter, but it’s not super tight. It’s a little appetizer, there will be much tighter days to come.” A blackout is currently unlikely, however, since the network will fall back on “interconnector trading”, which will enable a rapid increase in energy imports. Still, the blackout warning has added pressure on Brits who are in the midst of a cost of living and energy bill crisis.
