Britain is at the lowest risk of a winter power blackout than at any point in the last six years, the national electricity grid operator has said.

Not since the pre-pandemic winter of 2019-2020 has the risk been so low, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) said.

It’s thanks to increased battery capacity to store and deploy excess power from windfarms, and a new subsea electricity cable to Ireland that came on stream in April.

The margins between expected demand and supply are now roughly three gas power stations greater than last year, the NESO said.

It also comes as Britain and the world reached new records for green power.

For the first time, renewable energy produced more of the world’s electricity than coal in the first half of 2025, while in Britain, a record 54.5% of power came from renewables like solar and wind energy in the three months to June.

More renewable power can mean lower bills, as there’s less reliance on volatile oil and gas markets, which have remained elevated after the invasion of Ukraine and the Western attempt to wean off Russian fossil fuels.

“Renewables are lowering wholesale electricity prices by up to a quarter”, said Jess Ralston, an energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank.

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In a recent winter, British coal plants were fired up to meet capacity constraints when cold weather increased demand, but still weather conditions meant lower supply, as the wind didn’t blow.

Those plants have since been decommissioned.

But it may not be all plain sailing…

There will, however, be some “tight” days, the NESO said.

On such occasions, the NESO will tell electricity suppliers to up their output.

The times Britain is most likely to experience supply constraints are in early December or mid-January, the grid operator said.

The NESO had been owned by National Grid, a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but was acquired by the government for £630m in 2023.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of Manchester United and head of Ineos, one of Europe’s largest chemical producers, has staged an “11th-hour intervention” in an effort to “save” the chemical industry.

Sir Jim has called on European legislators to reduce price pressures on chemical businesses, or there “won’t be a chemical industry left to save”.

“There’s, in my view, not a great deal of time left before we see a catastrophic decline in the chemical industry in Europe”, he said.

The “biggest problem” facing businesses is gas and electricity costs, with the EU needing to be “more reactive” on tariffs to protect competition, Sir Jim added.

Prices should be eased on chemical companies by reducing taxes, regulatory burdens, and bringing back free polluting permits, the Ineos chairman and chief executive said.

It comes as his company, Europe’s biggest producer of some chemicals and one of the world’s largest chemical firms, announced the loss of 60 jobs at its acetyls factory in Hull earlier this week.

Cheap imports from China were said to be behind the closure, as international competition facing lower costs has hit the sector.

What could happen?

Now is a “moment of reckoning” for Europe’s chemicals industry, which is “at a tipping point and can only be saved through urgent action”, Sir Jim said.

European chemical sector output declined significantly due to reduced price competitiveness from high energy and regulatory costs, according to research funded by Ineos and carried out by economic advisory firm Oxford Economics.

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The report said the continent’s policymakers face a “critical” decision between acting now to safeguard “this vital strategic industry or risk its irreversible decline”.

As many as 1.2 million people are directly employed by chemical businesses, with millions more supported in the supply chain and through staff spending wages, the Oxford Economics report read.

Average investment by European chemical firms was half that of US counterparts (1.5%, compared to 3%), a trend which is projected to continue, the report added.

NEW YORK — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer each drove in a run, and eight Toronto pitchers shut down the New York Yankees in a 5-2 victory Wednesday night that sent the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series for the first time in nine years.

Nathan Lukes provided a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the pesky Blue Jays, fouling off tough pitches and consistently putting the ball in play, bounced right back after blowing a five-run lead in Tuesday night’s loss at Yankee Stadium.

AL East champion Toronto took the best-of-five Division Series 3-1 and will host Game 1 in the best-of-seven ALCS on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners.

Those teams are set to decide their playoff series Friday in Game 5 at Seattle.

Ryan McMahon homered for the wild-card Yankees, unable to stave off elimination for a fourth time this postseason as they failed to repeat as AL champions.

Despite a terrific playoff performance from Aaron Judge following his previous October troubles, the 33-year-old star slugger remains without a World Series ring. New York is still chasing its 28th title and first since 2009.