Blackouts and the National Grid – fact-checked

Electricity… it’s the energy that powers the nation’s homes, farms, offices and sports stadiums yet it’s something we take for granted because it’s always there. Flick a switch and the light, machinery – and more recently car – turns on. It’s simple… until outside influences threaten to upset the balance.

Although the team at National Grid’s Transmission Network Control Centre (TNCC) work round the clock to balance out supply and demand, pinch points do happen. But temporary and localised blackouts would only be a very last resort, according to Network Resilience Manager Ross McGhin, who gave Gridline this fact-check update.

What are the benefits of the National Grid?

It’s a transmission system with high levels of built-in resilience that connects electricity from power stations to substations and smaller local Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), which then transport electricity into grantors’ homes and businesses.

Essentially the Grid is what is says on the tin – an intricate national system of localised networks and substations linked by pylons, overhead lines, interconnectors, storage facilities and substations.

National Grid is the infrastructure that pushes the energy created by power stations (the generators) and is moved around by distribution companies (DNOs). The Grid carries the current through transformers to increase the voltage so it is capable of travelling longer distances.

The electrical charge goes through high-voltage transmission lines across the UK to the DNOs that then reduce the voltage before sending it on to your home or business, passing through your meter to record how much you’ve used.

What does the Control Centre team do?

It constantly monitors and balances the electricity from power station to pylon along sections of overhead line. The teams get alerts before a section or pylon needs maintenance and reroute the electricity during routine or emergency maintenance so consumers can still be supplied.

So are blackouts a possibility?

They are highly unlikely and very much a worst-case scenario. They’d only happen if gas power plants were unable to keep running due to the energy crisis and, given the recent warm weather, gas stores have built up.

Because the Grid is constantly balancing supply and demand, routine rota load shedding may be an option. This will make sure the amount of electricity being put into the Grid by power plants and wind farms matches the amount being taken out by domestic customers and businesses at any given time.

What happens if there’s more demand than supply?

The team in the TNCC plan for when they think demand will be high so they can ask generators to meet that demand.

But if there’s ever an imbalance where demand is higher than supply or supply is higher than demand, it can cause problems. If engineers know there will not be enough supply to match demand, sometimes they need to reduce demand by planned outages to avoid major damage.

Why might blackouts be necessary this winter?

In the extremely unlikely event that gas generators are unable to get enough gas to keep running, the Grid may have to flex the amount of power to some households and businesses.

If that needs to happen the Grid will issue a warning to local and regional distributors saying how much demand needs to be cut. It is then up to these distribution centres to decide where and when.

How can we avoid blackouts?

If the blackouts are caused by a lack of supply, the only way is to reduce demand at particular times. Because most demand happens between 4pm and 7pm when people get home from work, put the kettle on, switch on their ovens and sit down to watch TV, it can be easily managed.

It’s important to remember that the overall amount of electricity that people use doesn’t have to reduce if they change their usage to other times of the day.

What is the Grid doing to encourage changes in behaviour?

Many suppliers such as Octopus have signed up to a scheme designed to incentivise customers to switch the times they use electricity to off-peak hours on days when supply is stretched. That will mean less stress on the Grid by making better use of the country’s electricity generation by ironing out some of the peaks.

So the blackout story is fake news?

It was always very much a worst-case scenario. National Grid is all about flexibility and resilience. That’s its strength. Most of Britain’s energy suppliers have now signed up to a new National Grid-led scheme that will pay them not to use electricity at peak times to avoid blackouts this winter.

Families with smart meters will open up new possibilities for the future of energy supply and consumption as they help take pressure off the Grid this winter and in the future. Experts hope most households with electric cars will plug in when they get home, but that their smart meter will wait until electricity is most abundant – and cheaper – before charging.

Is this a glimpse of the future?

“Very much so because, with smart meters, customers can interact and provide services to networks that they’ve not been able to do in the past,” says National Grid CEO John Pettigrew.

“So although it’s something that’s a useful insurance policy for this winter for the system operator, it’s actually quite exciting and it’s actually developing products and services that I think will be the norm going forward.

What will happen when the subsidised energy scheme ends in April?

John Pettigrew supports a targeted scheme to help those households most in need. He is in line with some of the big energy suppliers in urging the Government to set up a subsidised 'social' energy package that would apply to the most vulnerable customers.

National Grid has already set up a £50m fund to cover the next 18 months, which it will distribute to organisations such as the Fuel Bank Foundation and Citizens Advice that assist households struggling with the cost of living crisis. You can find out more about the fund on our Newsline page.