THE National Grid is to start emergency plans for the first time to avoid blackouts on the coldest night of the year.
The grid has confirmed that two of its emergency coal plants will be used today as temperatures start to plummet.
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The National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has considered using the stations previously but they have always been stood down.
It is the first time the emergency coal stations will be in use.
So far, two of the four contingency coal units will be used to generate electricity tonight.
Earlier today, The National Grid put the coal plants on standby in case they were needed.
It said this morning: “The ESO as a prudent system operator has developed these tools for additional contingency to operate the network as normal.
“This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk.”
It comes as temperatures are set to drop across the UK, putting a strain on energy supplies.
When this happens it means there is more demand on the network and emergency measures are put in place.
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Tonight (Tuesday) could be the coldest of the year so far, the Met Office has announced.
It said temperatures could drop to -15C in some sheltered Scottish glens, especially where there is fresh snow cover.
Meanwhile, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place for London, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, parts of the Midlands and South Wales until 10am this morning.
The same warning was already in place in most of Northern and Eastern Scotland and North East England.
This is the fourth time this winter so far that the National Grid has issued this notification.
It previously said would be deployed only as a “last resort” to prevent blackouts.
The move comes after fears were raised blackouts could hit parts of the UK over the colder months, but using the coal stations is a way to avoid this.
What emergency plan will National Grid follow?
Blackouts could be introduced in case of an emergency scenario where there is a massive shortage of gas, which is used to generate electricity.
Before a planned blackout, the National Grid will issue its emergency plan to reduce power supply.
Government documents reveal the first stage would involve direct appeals to the public to reduce their power consumption.
The second is putting restrictions on companies’ electricity usage by requesting they reduce their consumption by a certain percentage.
And the final stage would involve rolling blackouts for homes across the UK.
The blackouts would only take place in a worse-case scenario, where gas supplies are reduced because more people are using their energy on colder days.
The National Grid has previously said planned blackouts would most likely happen between 4pm and 7pm on the coldest days between January and February.
If power cuts were to go ahead, it would be the first time for controlled blackouts since the 1970s.
There’s also the demand flexibility service (DFS), which has already run this winter, and has been introduced to help prevent blackouts.
It will run 12 times to ensure people are rewarded, even if there are no blackouts this winter.
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