Wed 02 November 2022:
Despite the government’s price restriction, many British homes may struggle to pay their bills this winter, according to John Pettigrew, CEO of UK-based energy and gas giant National Grid.
UK energy bosses warn short rolling power cuts are a possibility this winter, as Vladimir Putin’s tactical tightening of gas pipelines in Europe starts to bite.
Pettigrew told the Financial Times that he was confident that the British people will face a financially challenging winter.
“Even with the [taxpayer-funded] price cap this is a doubling-up of what people are used to paying for their energy bills,” said Pettigrew.
“Therefore inevitably there are going to be people who are going to struggle.”
He said it was the National Grid’s ‘base case’ assumption was that the UK would have enough energy supplies to meet heating and lighting demand this winter.
But he added that short rolling power cuts were a possibility. Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘There could be energy shortfalls in the UK and we will manage that very carefully.’
However he said it was ‘not time for people to panic’, adding: ‘What we’re doing is making sure that the infrastructure that we have and the networks are robust and ready for the winter, and I’ve got thousands of engineers making sure that the network is ready for whatever weather we see over the winter.’
The British government has limited the energy cost until April. This means that the average household will pay an average of $2,885 per year, while last winter the equivalent amount was $1,474.
Each household will also receive a £400 reduction in electricity bills, with additional payments, through Social Security benefits.
However, given rising energy prices, this will still not close the current gap.
Pettigrew said the National Grid is working on a set of contingency plans to protect the UK against the energy deficit from Europe.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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