Households cutting energy usage to avoid blackouts ‘likely how we’ll all operate in future’ – National Grid
The head of markets at the National Grid Electricity System Operator has told Sky News that its new energy saving scheme “is likely how we’re all going to operate in the future.”
The new Demand Flexibility Service, which allows consumers to volunteer to use less electricity at times of peak demand to help avoid blackouts, has been activated twice this winter.
The Grid’s head of markets, Claire Dykta, described it as an effective “insurance policy” for the coming months, but also a demonstration of how the system could adapt as it is increasingly powered by clean, renewable energy, which is more intermittent than the polluting fossil fuels it is replacing.
She said: “Demand flexibility is going to be a really important component of our energy supply mix going forward and it will grow and grow as something that we all get used to.
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“Once we’ve got electric cars and we don’t have gas boilers anymore, we’re going to be using energy very differently to how we use it today. Consumers being able to shift their demand is likely how we’re all going to operate in the future.”
Retired bereavement counsellor, Wendy Hall, 65, is from one of the around a million UK households that have signed up to take part in the Demand Flexibility Service.
Wendy Hall is taking part in the scheme to help others
The Demand Flexibility Service gives people the chance to save money off their bills
This time, she was asked by her energy supplier to save at least 20% of her regular usage over one-and-a-half hours.
When we arrived at her small single-story home in Chesterfield all the lights and appliances were off. Wendy was wrapped in her dressing gown for warmth, and was relying on the wood-burning fire in the living room to heat that part of the house.
She planned to eat and wash her clothes later in the evening, to avoid using large appliances that typically use lots of electricity.
During the energy reduction period, she had her phone and Wi-Fi on, and kept a battery-powered lantern nearby to light her path as she moved around her home in the darkness.
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National Grid: Cash to reduce energy
Avoiding blackouts for vulnerable who need electricity
So far, the most Wendy has managed to save in one session is £3.66. Although, for her, this isn’t the main motivator.
“Primarily, it’s about avoiding blackouts for people who need the electricity, such as families with young children, elderly or disabled people. If I can just do a little bit and it helps them then that’s everything for me,” Wendy said.
“I’m not worried about the money, it’s not about that. Thinking about the war days, they dug for England, they made do and mended and if just switching the power off for one hour is a help to other people, I’m happy to do it.”
The National Grid emphasised that advances in smart appliances and technologies will ultimately make it much easier for people to consume electricity more flexibly, helping keep bills down at the same time as reducing demand at peak times.
Ms Dykta said: “I think one thing we should be really clear about is that when we talk about this Demand Flexibility Service and what it means, it’s about shifting your energy intensive appliances so your tumble dryer or your washing machine or your electric oven – and using those at different times.
“It’s not about switching everything off and sitting in the dark.
“Great Britain is on a journey to a high renewables green system. We’re further along than a lot of others, so demand flexibility is a step on that journey.”
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‘Smart’ consumers playing active part in system
But are the majority of British consumers ready to make this shift in their energy consumption habits?
E.ON chief executive Michael Lewis believes they are.
He told Sky News that “smart” consumers becoming an active part of the energy system is a critical part of its future.
“I think people are ready. They fully understand that we need to get off fossil fuels.
“We need to get to net zero and we need to get ourselves off these volatile international prices. And I think what Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown is how reliant we are on unstable political regimes.
“They know we need to take responsibility for our energy system and that means every individual taking responsibility for how we consume energy.”
But he warned that ditching fossil fuels will require a “huge national investment and a huge national effort”.
“Bear in mind we have to massively expand electricity generation, because not only are we replacing old fossil fuel generation, we’re also replacing all of the petroleum that goes into cars with electricity, and all of the gas that goes into heating with electricity.
“So we need much more renewable energy generation upstream and that’s both large scale generation like offshore wind, but also more embedded generation, like solar panels on every roof, and more electric vehicle chargers in homes and businesses.”
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‘We save £10 a day on energy scheme’
As well as increasing efforts to make homes more energy efficient, he said: “We have to look at storage.
“Batteries of course are great for short-term storage and as the electric vehicle fleet increases there’ll be more and more battery capacity embedded in the system, but we also need a long-term solution for seasonal storage.
“And that’s probably going to be hydrogen and we have to ramp up green hydrogen production to create that storage for when the wind isn’t blowing and when the sun isn’t shining.”
As part of its promise to decarbonise power generation in this country by 2035, the government has ambitious plans to ramp up battery storage and green hydrogen production, as well as increase wind power fivefold by the end of the decade.
But some industry experts worry that too much faith is being placed in technologies that, while rapidly advancing, are not yet at the necessary scale and affordability.
Heading for supply crisis in mid 2020s
Energy analyst from the Watt Logic consultancy, Kathryn Porter, says that the system has held up relatively well this winter, in part because warmer weather reduced the demand for gas, which provided just under 40% of our electricity generation last year.
But she is worried about what is to come, particularly about reliance on foreign electricity imports from European partners, especially France.
She said: “We’re running into a supply crisis in the middle of this decade.
“The reality is that this is the second time in five years that the French have taken large parts of their fleet offline for systemic problems, and so thinking that we can rely on old French reactors to get us out of trouble, I think is a little bit optimistic.
“We have legislation in place that requires all the coal power stations to close by October 2024.
“There are also two of our remaining nuclear power stations scheduled for closure in March 2024.
“So we have a situation where the winter after next, all of the spare capacity that we currently have… that will have gone.
“So we need to replace that. And the only realistic way of doing that is to build gas power stations. Now two years isn’t really long enough to do that.”
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A government spokesperson told Sky News: “Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown it is now more important than ever that we boost the UK’s homegrown energy supply to strengthen domestic resilience and energy security now and into the future.”
They added that the British Energy Security Strategy will “supercharge” renewable energy and nuclear capacity, as well as support North Sea oil and gas.
Billions have also been invested up until 2028 to make buildings more energy efficient, they said.
An MP has told Sky News she was attacked online by the Tate brothers after she participated in a debate in the House of Commons about violence against women.
The controversial duo, Andrew and Tristan Tate, are facing charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK – all of which they deny.
But they are still very active online, and according to Sorcha Eastwood, the MP for Lagan Valley, are targeting her.
In a document seen by Sky News, Tristan Tate has highlighted one of the MP’s tweets and writes in private correspondence: “MP, nice target, can we sue her?”
Sorcha Eastwood says at first she thought the replies were from parody accounts and not the Tate brothers.
Her original tweet was about Elon Musk, not the Tate brothers. The MP said Musk’s tweets should be looked at through a counter-extremism lens.
“I was really concerned, I was concerned because to me that is a direct attack for want of a better phrase on me serving my constituents.
“I couldn’t believe that they decided to pick this random Northern Irish MP. The fact that it wasn’t even about them. This is something I didn’t go looking for.
“I think from my perspective, it’s a very, very sinister attempt to shut down important voices in public life, political discourse.”
It was only when she started noticing an uptick in abuse from other accounts she realised she had encountered some of the brothers’ followers.
“I had rape threats. I had death threats. I had people saying I should be hung from a lamppost. I had people saying I should be chopped into liver. I also had people then who were like we’ll waste 15 minutes raping Sorcha Eastwood.”
A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against Sorcha Eastwood
A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against her.
They said: “Ms Eastwood has a distorted view regarding social media if she believes one is required to ‘invite or ask’ people to interact.
“Tristan Tate is entitled to his view in relation to her tweet regarding Elon Musk.”
The self-styled “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have both been charged with human trafficking, face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.
There is also a European arrest warrant for them as they are facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. They deny all charges.
Ms Eastwood now worries for others who don’t have a platform like her and who may not feel like they can speak out.
“If this is what has happened to me I have absolutely no doubt that this has happened to others where they have been attempted to be silenced.”
Keir Starmer has previously commented on the Tate brothers’ case in the Commons saying it is “a live issue”, but adding that “the principle is absolutely clear” in relation to whether the brothers should face justice.
Sorcha Eastwood says she wants to see the government do much more to protect against abuse online.
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Tate brothers deny wrongdoing
“I think ultimately the government has taken the wrong course on this. They need to step up.
“This should be an issue of national security as far as the radicalisation of young people online. It should be an issue in terms of the levels of misinformation, disinformation and the lack of trust that is had in our politics right across the UK and Europe.
“I want the government to help me, help every other person to crack down on this and get serious about it. And the only way they’ll be able to do that, is by hitting these tech companies in the only language which they understand, which is money and via robust legislation.”
A government spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is a scourge on our society which is why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve these crimes within a decade.
“Tackling illegal abuse both online and offline is central to supporting victims and preventing harm in our communities and we will not hesitate to strengthen laws to deliver this mission.
“Last month, parts of the Online Safety Act came into force meaning companies must take action to protect users from illegal material including extreme sexual violence.
“Further protections from this summer will require platforms to protect children from harmful, misogynistic, and violent content.”
UK
‘It’s just nasty’: Birmingham residents ‘overwhelmed’ by foul stench and massive rats as bins strike rumbles on
In parts of Birmingham, the stench is overwhelming – enough to make you heave.
At a block of flats in Highgate, in Birmingham city centre, we find a mountain of bin liners full of rubbish spewing out of the cavernous bin store, which is normally locked.
Mickel comes out to speak to us, while all around bin liners lie open, with the contents for all to see, including used nappies and rotting food.
Mickel says they’ve had ‘foxes and rats, literally the size of cats’
Outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate, bin liners lie open, spewing out rubbish
We both find it hard to keep talking amid the awful smell.
“We’ve had foxes and rats, literally the size of cats, flies, it’s just nasty, something needs to be done,” he says.
Chris says the situation is ‘overwhelming’ as she’s ‘terrified of rats’
Around the corner, I meet Chris, in her dressing gown, popping the bins into her bin store beneath her flat before work.
She unlocks it, and although it isn’t bursting out on to the street yet, it is getting full.
She says the situation is “overwhelming” as she’s “terrified of rats”. But, even so, she has sympathy for the striking bin workers.
“It’s not an easy job; they must have a heart of gold to do that job,” she says.
“Pay them whatever they need, they deserve it.”
Striking bin workers at Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre
There’s an awful smell coming from a mountain of bin liners outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate
At Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre, Brigette has pulled up alongside picketing workers. The back seat of her car is full of rubbish.
She apologises for the terrible waft, mixed with air freshener.
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“It’s very pungent, isn’t it? Not nice,” she admits.
“It’s unfortunate, I have some sympathies for all the parties, but, equally, we have a duty of care to stay clean and tidy.”
She says she has her rubbish and that of her elderly aunt and plans to make weekly trips to the tip until a resolution in this pay dispute between the council and the Unite union is found.
UK
‘US is our closest ally’, Jonathan Reynolds says in reaction to Trump tariffs – but ‘nothing off the table’
The US is “our closest ally” but “nothing is off the table” in response to Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports from the UK, the business secretary has said.
In a statement following the US president’s nearly hour-long address to the world, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers.
“That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.”
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Mr Reynolds reiterated the statements from the prime minister and his cabinet over the past few days, saying the US is “our closest ally”, and the government’s approach is to “remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today”.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says “nothing is off the table” following the tariffs announcement. Pic: PA
But he continued: “We have a range of tools at our disposal, and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses, including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war, and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table, and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
‘Get back round the negotiating table’, say Tories
The Conservative Party’s shadow business and trade secretary described the US president’s announcement as “disappointing news which will worry working families across the country”.
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Sky’s Ed Conway examines how economies across the world are impacted by tariffs
Andrew Griffith hit out at the government for having “failed to negotiate with President Trump’s team for too many months after the election, failed to keep our experienced top trade negotiator, and failed to get a deal to avoid the imposition of these tariffs by our closest trading partner”.
“The chancellor’s emergency budget of just a week ago with its inadequate headroom is now at risk, casting uncertainty about more taxes or spending cuts,” he continued. “Sadly, it is British businesses and workers who will pay the price for Labour’s failure.”
He called on ministers to “swallow their pride” and “get back round the negotiating table to agree a fair deal to protect jobs and consumers in both the UK and the US alike”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has reacted furiously to Mr Trump’s announcement of a “destructive trade war”, and called on the government to stand up against “Trump’s attempts to divide and rule”.
“The prime minister should bring our Commonwealth and European partners together in a coalition of the willing against Trump’s tariffs, using retaliatory tariffs where necessary and signing new trade deals with each other where possible.”
Speaking on Wednesday evening at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the US president unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Mr Trump held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bow over the 20% VAT rate, though the president’s suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations. Nonetheless, tariffs of 10% could directly reduce UK GDP by between 0.01% and 0.06%, according to Capital Economics.
A 25% duty on all car imports from around the world is also being imposed from midnight in the US – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
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The UK government had been hoping to negotiate an economic deal with the US in a bid to avoid the tariffs, but to no avail. The government says negotiations will continue.
The Confederation of British Industry said “negotiating stronger trading relationships with all like-minded partners will be foundational to any success”.
The business secretary is expected to make a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday, and we are also expecting to hear from the prime minister.
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