National Grid executives are sounding the alarm, predicting blackouts in the South East by 2028 due to the transition to reliance on renewable energy. This dire warning comes as no surprise to Guido, who has long questioned Labour’s reckless rush towards their utopian Net Zero dream…

Blame for this looming crisis is laid squarely at the feet of the erratic wind and solar power schemes that Labour so fervently champions. Electricity supply from renewables is set to skyrocket this decade under Labour’s push to make the power grid Net Zero by 2030. Industry leaders also point to a set of outdated market rules that are only making the bottlenecks worse. More red tape to go green over growth…

Electricity System Operator (ESO) executives are reportedly deeply “worried about keeping the lights on” in the South East with a source telling the Telegraph that “there will be blackouts in the South East by 2028”.  Ed Miliband’s dash to decarbonise and rely on wind and solar plants – which are being mostly built in the North – making it difficult to transmit power across the country. With ongoing strikes and the threat of blackouts, are Labour taking us back to the 70s?

UPDATE: An ESO spokesman responds:

“We refute this categorically. We are not forecasting blackouts. As a prudent system operator we regularly assess the future challenges to decarbonising Great Britain’s electricity system whilst maintaining security of supply and managing cost. The ESO’s analysis in respect of zonal pricing supports the strategic build out and operation of Britain’s electricity system in a manner that is efficient and ensures that all networks and assets are utilized [sic] to their maximum. The ESO’s analysis does not show there will be blackouts because of current market arrangements. It indicates that we will need to continue to use our operational toolkit to balance the electricity system on a national basis. However, we expect that reforms to the wholesale electricity market, the accelerated delivery of electricity networks, and delivery of new generation and storage, will create a more efficient electricity system for the future.”

Guido thinks he means by “zonal pricing” that prices will have to go up in the South East if we don’t want power cuts.