𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Most Express readers probably retain vivid memories of the rolling power cuts which blighted the country during the 1970s. If they were a bit before your time, I can assure you they weren’t much fun. Ted Heath’s squabbles with the coal miners had forced the government to introduce a three-day working week in order to conserve energy supplies.

Entire neighbourhoods were regularly plunged into darkness. That meant cold dinners, no television and baths in the dark. Meanwhile, school children were required to do homework by candlelight. Forget what Andy Burnham says about the 70s, it was a miserable time. When that unhappy period of industrial strife eventually subsided and gas-fired electricity began to dominate our energy mix, we assumed those dark days were behind us.

Or at least we hoped. Unfortunately, thanks to Britain’s ruinous energy policy over the past decade, the prospect of a return to Blackout Britain this winter is back. And it’s all down to, you guessed it, the Government’s dogmatic pursuit of Net Zero. For a century, Britain’s electricity system rested on big, dependable power stations that could be turned up when we needed them.

Coal, oil and nuclear gave us what engineers call inertia, the massive physical weight of spinning turbines that kept the system steady when demand surges or a plant trips offline. It was stable and predictable. But most important of all it was reliable.

That was until Conservatives and Labour decided to rip out that sturdy backbone of supply and instead embarked upon a headlong dash towards clean power by 2030, a target dreamed up by Whitehall paper clip counters with no evidence it could be met without putting our supply security at risk.

In their place come wind turbines and solar panels, which as we all know generate power when the weather permits, not when families need it. The moment the wind stops blowing across the North Sea or a cloud cover settles over Britain, power output plummets in seconds.

The Germans have a great word for these windless, gloomy days that are too prevalent during winter: Dunkelflaute. Already we are witnessing the consequences. Frequency fluctuations are becoming dangerously common and grid operators are repeatedly forced to issue emergency margin notices.

On those days, in order for Britain to keep the lights on, we must either fire up emergency gas plants at short notice or pay astronomical costs importing electricity from the EU via undersea cables, often at short-term astronomical prices.

You hardly need a PHD in nuclear fusion to deduce this growing reliance on others makes us hugely vulnerable, particularly in times of need. If mainland Europe experiences a severe cold snap in the coming months, energy demand across EU countries will spike simultaneously, leaving fewer surplus supplies to export.

Because European nations face their own tight gas reserves, they will almost certainly be forced to prioritise domestic security over exports. That would leave our national grid facing terrifyingly razor-thin supply margins. To prevent total, uncontrolled collapse of the network if these margins fail, system operators will be forced to implement emergency measures, meaning power cuts and household blackouts becoming routine. In other words, it’ll be the 1970s all over again.

Don’t just take my word for it. A recently leaked document by the government-owned National Energy System Operator (NESO) revealed that increasing reliance on wind, solar and batteries in the UK has made supply and demand forecasting more difficult, raising blackout risks and pushing up consumer bills.

In words which should set the crockery rattling in the Department of Energy, the whistleblower behind the leak claimed NESO is “flying blind, every minute of every day” in its ability to understand energy supply and demand.

Believe me, the blackout threat is real. For the Westminster establishment to have gambled on an unproven, untested power system while systematically junking the coal, gas and nuclear resources which have served the UK so well for years is beyond reckless.

In betting terms it is, quite literally, like walking over to the roulette table at the casino and placing the taxpayers’ entire stack of chips not on black, not on red – but on green. On top of the global humiliation Britain would suffer from power outages, the economic consequences would be disastrous.

Financial markets would be disrupted. Billions would be squandered in lost output, spoiled inventory and emergency response expenses. Worse, there is the potential for widespread looting and civil unrest. Meanwhile, hospitals would be forced to rely upon back-up generators and battery banks. Make no mistake, should blackouts occur this winter, people will die as a direct result.

All this is, of course, entirely avoidable. Reform UK is the only political party willing to call out this green madness and demand common sense action. We would solve this crisis through an uncompromising commitment to national energy self-sufficiency. First and foremost, we will immediately scrap the disastrous Net Zero targets and abandon the Climate Change Act, which has crippled our industrial base and driven energy bills through the roof.

We will issue fast-track licenses for North Sea oil and gas extraction to maximise domestic production and ensure every last barrel is utilised to keep British homes warm and factories running. Furthermore, we will fast track new gas and nuclear power stations, to secure continuous electricity for decades to come.

By prioritising cheap, reliable power over climate dogma, we will protect British families from high energy bills and restore the industrial sovereignty that this country desperately needs.

And yes, we will keep the lights on. In the meantime, here’s some kindly advice before the clocks go back next Sunday: Stock up on those candles, pronto.