The times that households in the UK could see planned blackouts this winter in a worst case scenario are detailed in Government emergency planning documents. The National Grid had previously warned that — thanks to gas supply shortages exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a series of three-hour power cuts might be necessary, with the goal of reducing total energy consumption by around five percent. The published proposals predate recent announcements, however, so it is possible that, should scheduled blackouts prove necessary this winter, plans may be updated and revised. However, the National Grid Electricity System Operator has stated that such drastic resorts are fortunately “unlikely” to be called upon in the near future. A Government spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. We are not dependent on Russian energy imports and have plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter, in light of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. To strengthen this position further, we have put plans in place to secure supply and National Grid, working alongside energy suppliers and Ofgem, will launch a voluntary service to reward users who reduce demand at peak times.”
According to the emergency code from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: “If a prolonged electricity shortage affects a specific region, or the whole country, electricity rationing may be necessary.
“The Electricity Supply Emergency Code (ESEC) outlines the process for ensuring fair distribution nationally while still protecting those who require special treatment, using a process known as ‘rota disconnections’.”
The emergency code explains that each of the UK’s 14 electricity distribution networks are divided into 18 load blocks — each of which is given an alphabetical identifier (A, B, C, etc.).
Accordingly, every household on the network is given a block letter based on their relevant point of connection into the power grid. This information can often be found on your electricity bill — if not, your energy supplier should be able to tell you on request.
The schedules for each severity published in the Electrical Supply Emergency Code are described as “the default rota disconnection plan”.
However, the BEIS document also notes, “detailed timings of disconnections and reconnections will be confirmed by an activation schedule issued by the National Grid Electricity System Operator.”
Level one, for example, begins with load block A experiencing a three-hour blackout in time period 1 — that is from 12.30am to 3.30am — on Mondays, then again from 3.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesdays and 12.30am to 3.30am on Fridays.
Under level one, each load block experiences either three or four three-hour blackouts per week. Under level two, this increases to five–eight three-hour blackouts per week, eight–eleven blackouts under level three, and so on with increasing frequency per level.
Detailed default disconnection rotas for some of the severity levels can be seen above — the rest are published in the Electrical Supply Emergency Code on the BEIS website.
