UK Officials are ‘Wargaming’ Energy Crises In Prep for Winter

The UK is in the midst of an energy crisis, dealing with a heatwave that hit most of Europe, along with political instability on the continent.

Power generators and government officials in the UK are “wargaming” emergency plans for the upcoming winter, hoping to prevent widespread blackouts as the country’s energy crisis continues to worsen.

Sources at two power stations and government officials told the Independent that the drill will likely occur in September or October and are outside the realm of normal winter preparedness. They also warned that gas-powered stations may be turned off during the winter to ease demand on the network.

“We’re wargaming very serious scenarios. These are not unlikely scenarios,” one official told the Independent.

Emergency communications will be required if the government and national grid need to take greater control of the power grid. In a worst-case scenario, the country could face blackouts and widespread gas cuts this winter.

“If it’s very cold for an extended period, we can expect tightness, which may lead to customers being asked to reduce or cut off their supplies,” Nick Wye, a director at an energy consulting firm told the Independent.

While officials in the UK government have put on a positive public face, pointing out that the UK, unlike much of mainland Europe, is not dependent on Russia for its energy needs, the country is still facing shortages.

That is because the UK depends on mainland Europe for its excess energy needs, particularly France and Norway. Norway has indicated that it may have to ration energy exports this winter and France’s power output has dropped massively because many of its nuclear power plants have had to reduce or cut their output due to maintenance. Some French nuclear power plants have had to reduce their output because of drought, as the rivers that cool their reactors are too hot to perform that function.

Another issue is that the UK is short on gas supplies. According to industry experts, the country only has 10 days’ worth of gas onshore. If Norway and France trim the amount of energy they are willing to send to the UK, the gas reserves will not be enough to fill the gap for long.

The energy industry and government officials are also concerned that UK citizens may neglect to pay their energy bills en masse, prices are expected to exceed £5,000 ($6,067) next year.

“Forget just work from home, this could be an ‘unplug at home’ January,” one official told the Independent. “There’s no easy way to bank enough power to keep us going.”