An orchestrated power outage in industry and households in January is the ‘worst case scenario’ of the UK government’s energy emergency plan.

In the midst of low winter temperatures, Britannia does not exclude the possibility of shortage of natural gas. Thus, based on the “worst case scenario”, reduced power generation capacity can correspond to 1/6 of the demand even after the emergency operation of coal-fired power plants.

The UK government estimates that the country could be affected for up to four days in January, when emergency action may be required to reduce natural gas consumption.

In any case, Boris Johnson’s successor will have a tough time, whether it’s Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss. Britons face average annual electricity bills topping £4,200 in January amid inflation.

Charities, business groups and politicians have reached out to Truss and Sunak to explain how they will help the British cope with an 82% rise in energy prices in October.

The Bank of England warned last week that the UK is on track for a protracted recession as unprecedented increases in energy prices pushed inflation to nearly 13%.

And if the winter is too harsh, Britain will have to rely on pipeline gas supplies from Europe, with Moscow constantly cutting flows. It is noted that the UK has limited gas storage capacity.

Of course, the British government’s Office of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is reassuring, saying it does not expect this scenario to become a reality. “Households, businesses and industry can be confident that they will get the electricity and gas they need,” the statement said.

He said the UK is not dependent on energy imports from Russia and has its own natural gas reserves in the North Sea, as well as “constant imports from reliable partners”. It also hosts the second largest LNG port in Europe.

According to Bloomberg, Reuters