Could Britain face power cuts this winter? The impending crisis explained

Britain Power Cuts: Britain could face severe power cuts in the winter, National Grid warned.

Britons could face rolling three-hour blackouts if gas imports fall short of demand this winter, National Grid warned on Thursday adding that this would be the “worst-case scenario”. As Britain relies heavily on gas for power stations and on electricity from Europe- which is facing an energy crisis amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the country could face severe power cuts in the winter.

Britain Power Cuts: A woman with an umbrella and the Elizabeth Tower also known as Big Ben are reflected in a puddle in London. (AP)

Why would there be power cuts in Britain?

Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine has created “unprecedented turmoil and volatility” in energy markets, National Grid said. Owing to this the company said that there could be pre-planned power cuts across UK in three-hour slots so that priority can be given to power plants. Although the company said that the outages are “unlikely” but if cold weather coincided with reduced electricity imports, the power cuts would be necessitated.

How is the Liz Truss government reacting to the energy crisis?

UK's prime minister Liz Truss has asked European leaders to work together amid the imminent energy crisis. “What we’re clear about is that we do have a good supply of energy in the UK, we’re in a much better position than many other countries, but of course there’s always more we can do and that’s why I’m here working with our partners making sure we do have a secure energy supply into the future," Liz Truss said.