Rolling blackouts have been reported across Britain, with many residents and authorities blaming the Met Office's work-from-home system for not providing adequate advance notice of the very cold weather.
The electricity infrastructure is reportedly struggling to keep up with the demand caused by the cold blast, which brought temperatures as low as -17 degrees Celsius.
Who to Blame?
According to a News.com.au report, authorities might have better prepared for the cold weather by stocking up on gas if they had known about the impending freeze sooner.
Claims published on Sunday, Dec. 18, indicate that British residents may experience rolling power outages due to National Grid's failure to keep up with demand. National Grid is the primary electrical transmission and distribution company in the UK.
Some Westminster insiders have speculated that the weather service provider Met Office's recommendations for remote work may be to blame for the problems. A question was raised whether this is another instance when working from home has reduced the quality of public service.
The cold wave affecting Britain this week has caused temperatures to plummet to as low as -17.3 degrees Celsius. Based on some insiders, the extent of the cold blast was "dramatically underestimated" by forecasts.
Sources stated that specialists advised former Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg that temperature drops this severe was less than a one-in-10 possibility.
Winter Dilemma
Due to the low temperatures, National Grid activated its emergency power plan.
Despite earlier assurances that coal-fired units would be used solely as a last option in the case of blackouts, the company began using them for the first time this winter.
"The freezing conditions caught weather forecasters - and the National Grid that relies so heavily on them to plan our energy needs - off-guard," Tony Jordan stated, an independent energy analyst.
According to him, there is still a long way to go before residents do not have to worry about shortages or even blackouts.
Notably, there is concern that some regions of the UK could have power outages of three hours this winter.
Worst-case Scenarios
The Sun was able to get official government papers in October that detailed the planned power outages and their purpose, which is to preserve energy.
In the event of an emergency, if there is a severe scarcity of gas or the fuel used to produce power, blackouts may be implemented.
As temperatures dropped last week, the UK used about a fifth of its gas reserves in only six days.
Nevertheless, authorities reassured the British people that there would be enough supplies.
Temperatures are expected to rise to about 14 degrees Celsius on Monday as the weather improves.
However, freezing rain and snow are forecast to reach Britain on Sunday, causing travel mayhem.
The Met Office predicted a probable scenario of cold snaps in December and possibly snow and ice.
"As a responsible government, we continually plan for a wide range of potential scenarios, working to prepare robust contingency plans, so we minimize any potential impact," said the agency's representative.
