The UK is on the brink of a winter crisis as plummeting temperatures raise the spectre of blackouts. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has made an urgent call for increased electricity generation tonight – Wednesday, January 8 – in response to the cold snap.
It has also released a statement addressing the situation. Despite the looming threat, the statement assures that there are no immediate signs of impending power cuts, but an energy specialist has claimed there remains a chance due to a ‘perfect storm’ of weather conditions
A NESO spokesperson clarified the situation: “Our forecasts are showing tight margins on the electricity system for Wednesday evening between 4-7pm. This is a routine tool that we use most winters, and means we are asking market participants to make any additional generation capacity they may have available.”
With an anticipated shortfall of 1700 megawatts (MW), NESO is urging energy providers to ramp up their output to create a stronger safety buffer, as reported by the Mirror.
Energy specialist Paul Salvin, in comments to the Express, cautioned: “With limited availability for NESO to trade across the interconnectors with them already importing to the UK to their maximum, it is the highest chance in years of blackouts with such tight margins. Cold weather, no wind, the perfect winter storm.”
The UK is set to experience potentially the coldest night of the year this Thursday (January 9), with snow and ice warnings already in place for parts of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. The Met Office has suggested that more advisories may be issued as the week progresses.
Scotland and the north of England are particularly bracing for an intense cold snap, with temperatures expected to plummet to -15°C overnight on Thursday, which could equal last year’s record low for January of -14°C in Dalwhinnie, Scottish Highlands, on January 17. If temperatures drop to -16°C, it would mark the coldest January since Altnaharra in the Highlands recorded -22.3°C on January 8, 2010, according to Met Office records.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Chris Almond commented: “Thursday will see another cold night, with potentially the lowest temperatures of the winter so far, -15°C or so is possible in locations with lying snow in Scotland or northern England.”
He added: “In the early hours of Friday, a front arriving from the west will encounter the cold air in place over the UK. This could bring further sleet or snowfall for some regions in the south and west, as well as a risk of ice for a time as it moves north-eastwards into central parts, but the extent of this is still uncertain.”
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