UNITED KINGDOM: In light of mounting concerns over supply security this winter, the government has “war-gamed” emergency measures to deal with electricity shortages that may last up to seven days in the case of a countrywide power outage.
All sectors, including transportation, the supply of food and water, communications, and electricity, might be “severely interrupted” for up to a week in a “realistic worst-case scenario.”
In light of the Met Office’s warning that Britain faces a higher chance of a cold winter, they demonstrate that the government will give priority to providing food, drink, and shelter to the young and elderly as well as those who are responsible for caring for others if the UK endures blackouts.
Whitehall authorities have recently performed a series of exercises with government departments and councils throughout the nation to stress-test Programme Yarrow, the private plan for coping in the case of a power outage.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2021, a cross-government framework was initially developed to enhance planning and resilience in the event of a significant technological failure on the National Grid.
However, due to the war, worries about the effects of a blackout have intensified.
Government sources have acknowledged that the planning exercises have become more urgent due to the ensuing energy crisis and increased family energy costs.
Technical issues like flood damage or a lightning strike on a substation are included in government plans. However, they might also involve an attack on sub-sea power cables by a hostile state, similar to Russian attacks on the Nord Stream energy pipelines.
The disclosure follows Tom Tugendhat’s warning on Monday that Britain had become “more vulnerable” recently as nations wishing to hurt it had “leveled the field” by spending time and money on new technology.
Only analogue FM radios would function in the worst-case scenario specified in the plan. Only BBC Radio 2 and 4 would be broadcasting.
Meanwhile, local radio would be uncertain because some stations only had a few hours of backup generator coverage.
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