Could a power cut happen in the UK

The Government has said a major power cut affecting Spain, Portugal and parts of France “had no effects in the UK”.

But ministers have been looking at how to deal with “different kinds of challenges and threats” following what is one of Europe’s biggest ever power system failures.

Asked whether the power cut had triggered a fear that British infrastructure could be affected in the same way, Yvette Cooper told Sky News that the UK has a “continued approach” to “resilience” and “security issues”.

She added: “We’ve been looking, as part of wider security reviews across the country, how we deal with both resilience and also different kinds of challenges and threats.

“Some of which can be the traditional security challenges, some of which can be the kinds of resilience – things that we’re talking about in Spain and Portugal – and we obviously support them and the governments there in the work that they’re doing.”

Here The i Paper looks at how prepared the UK is for a similar event.

How is UK energy sourced?

The UK’s energy comes from a range of sources, including renewables, fossil fuels and nuclear, and using these sources, electricity is generated in power plants.

Electricity is transported through overhead and underground cables, while natural gas is transported via underground cables.

Could a similar power cut happen in the UK?

Investigations into what caused the multinational power cut are ongoing but Spanish grid operator Red Electrica has already ruled out a cyber attack as the reason for the widespread blackout.

As an island network Great Britain’s electricity system does not operate under the same conditions as continental European networks. As a result, it is insulated from some events that impact the wider European electricity network.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has confirmed Britain’s electricity network was not affected by the power system collapse which impacted parts of Europe.

A spokesperson added that NESO is working closely with its counterparts across Europe to understand the cause of the power system incident but said it is too early to comment further.

In its 2019 Blackout report, power supplies manufacturer Riello UPS, stated that there was only “a 1-in-200 chance” that the UK could experience a complete grid failure, with an up to seven day wait for power to be completely restored, in the next five years.

Chris Owens, marketing manager at Riello UPS, told Metro: “When you look at the events in Portugal and Spain and wonder ‘could that happen here in the UK?’, it’s still highly unlikely.

“There’s never been a complete failure of the UK’s electricity network, our power grid is reliable and robust.”

How prepared is the UK to deal with a widespread power cut?

In May last year, the then Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden launched a new “Prepare” Government website to help the public prepare for emergencies.

The online resource, which remains official guidance, states that while the UK has a resilient electricity system and most power cuts are localised and short-lived, more widespread power cuts that last days are possible.

The energy industry is understood to have well established plans for responding to a range of threats to the power network but generally keeps details secret for security reasons.

Local resilience forums, multi-agency partnerships made up of representatives from public services, including the emergency services and the Environment Agency, are also in place and work to plan for both localised incidents and catastrophic emergencies.

How to prepare for a blackout

In preparation for a power cut, official advice is that people should:

• Keep a battery or wind-up torch at home and, if possible, avoid using a mobile phone torch to conserve battery. It also advises against using candles or any other naked flames to provide light, as these could pose a fire hazard.
• Keep some bottled water, non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, a tin opener, and baby formula and pet food if needed. 
• Find out their power/load block letter. In the event of a national energy shortage, emergency power cuts could be scheduled on a rotating area-by-area basis, with each area assigned a “load block letter”.
• Sign up to their energy supplier’s Priority Service Register, if eligible, to let them know that you need additional support during a power cut.
• Write down frequencies of any local or national radio stations for news updates.
• Check with telecare device manufacturers that personal alarms, diabetes sensors or other equipment will work during a power cut.
• Download or print out offline versions of maps.