But for the first time in almost half a century, this supposed guarantee of living in the first world is no longer so cast-iron.
National Grid, the organisation responsible for balancing Britain's electricity supplies, has warned in its annual winter outlook that Europe faces a “challenging winter for energy supply”.
In the event of reduced gas and electric imports from the continent, coupled with insufficient gas supply in Britain, National Grid warns there will be a “large negative surplus” of energy.
This may result in emergency measures that would leave some customers “without power for pre-defined periods during a day – generally this is assumed to be for three-hour blocks.”
While National Grid stresses that this situation continues to be an “unlikely event”, and that it remains “cautiously confident” of maintaining supplies throughout the winter, the fact that blackouts are being discussed as a serious possibility is an alarming sign of how the old norms of life in Britain are ebbing away.
The UK’s reliance on natural gas to generate a large proportion of its electricity (43.5% in the last year) has left us hostage to disruptive geopolitical events. Russia’s decision to drastically limit exports via pipelines to Europe has caused a sudden rush among countries to secure enough gas for winter, with the shortages driving up energy costs and prompting consternation among governments.
While the soaring prices for consumers have now been somewhat mitigated by the government’s imposition of a ‘price guarantee’ which limits the per-unit cost of energy, executive jitters about scant gas supplies cannot be resolved so readily.
The situation is exacerbated by ongoing technical difficulties at many of France’s nuclear power stations, as well as low hydropower reserves in Norway, which adds further demand to the gas market.
A government decision in 2017 to allow the Rough facility to close, resulting in the loss of 70% of Britain’s gas storage capacity, has further compounded our vulnerability to supply shocks. Ministers have now decided to reopen the facility, but only 20% of its storage will be available this winter.
The closure of Rough is just one of the many irresponsibly complacent energy policies enacted by recent governments, with security of supply seemingly relegated to an afterthought. Almost all of the nation’s coal-fired power stations have been closed as part of a keen pursuit of emissions targets, while insufficient investment in alternative sources of power (Britain’s last new nuclear reactor was opened in 1995) has piled more straws on the camel’s back of natural gas.
This foolhardy short-termism has left Britain at the mercy of a European gas market reliant on Putin’s pipelines.
At a Tory leadership campaign hustings in August, former prime minister Liz Truss unequivocally vowed there would be no energy rationing this winter. But at the same event, her successor Rishi Sunak declared that “we shouldn’t rule anything out”.
Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has since confirmed that the government has been undertaking contingency planning for the possibility of winter power blackouts.
Such an event remains the "reasonable worst-case scenario" in the view of the government, but this will do little to ease the concerns of a weary public who remember the overly-optimistic early attitudes towards coronavirus and Brexit disruption.
The Sunak administration has been attempting to secure long-term arrangements with key exporters of natural gas to ensure Britain’s continuity of supply, but an attempt to strike a deal with Norway reportedly collapsed last month and ongoing negotiations with American suppliers are unlikely to yield much extra gas for this winter.
If supply cannot be increased, an alternative is to decrease demand. A plan to pay consumers to stop using electricity at peak times is now being tested, but only on small numbers of households. And while France and Germany, who also face shortages, have public campaigns encouraging citizens to cut down on energy usage this winter, the UK government has so far chosen not to do the same.
Blackout risks are also yet to reach the top of the news agenda, which increases the possible harm as the country will be less prepared, and more surprised, if the lights go out.
Electricity shortages this winter would cause suffering, desperation and resentment. We must demand stronger solutions on energy security from our politicians, including increased investment in wind, solar and nuclear power.
In the midst of a brutal recession, grim cost-of-living crisis and a host of other woes, any further ministerial dithering on energy policy risks pushing Britain even further into the mire.
A loss of electric power to British homes would all but guarantee Mr Sunak's loss of political power at the next election.
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