Britain asked Europe for emergency help yesterday amid fears that hundreds of thousands of homes could face electricity blackouts, according to reports.
In the latest energy scare for England, urgent requests were allegedly made for extra power from the Continent after a supposed fault on the southern network.
After calls for emergency assistance, The Times reported exports to France were first cut back before subsea cable imports from the Netherlands were boosted.
If the request was rejected, this could have forced the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) to close down any power exports that may have been draining UK supplies, it was claimed.
Britain was compelled to ask Europe for emergency help yesterday amid fears that hundreds of thousands of homes could be faced with electricity blackouts, reports say (file image)
Phil Hewitt, who works at the consultancy of EnAppSys told the newspaper this type of assistance is ‘unusual’ and only happens a few times throughout the year.
He added that the incident shows a ‘need to invest in more transmission capacity’ of power received in the South East.
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The problem was said to have prevented power being transported from the North to the South, where demand was higher.
The scare comes at a time when sweeping blackouts are already being felt by many Britons amid rocketing energy prices.
One million homes and businesses have rushed to sign up to a scheme that pays them to turn off washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and even the lights.
Craig Dyke, who leads the the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), has refused to rule out using the ‘world-leading’ scheme every winter, saying it will ‘drive forward towards net zero’.
Asked if it could become a feature of British life each winter, Mr Dyke told the BBC: ‘It’s something we strongly believe in. This is the start of something much, much bigger’.
MailOnline has approached National Grid ESO for comment.
