Britain ‘faces power cuts threat’

The UK will experience prolonged power cuts in about five years unless urgent action is taken now, a Pragmatic Energy Policy for the UK, report warns.

It said a third of generation capacity was due to be decommissioned by 2020, but was not being replaced fast enough.

In its 2007 Energy White Paper, the government indicated that it was in favour of a new fleet of nuclear power stations.

But co-author of the Pragmatic Energy Policy for the UK report, Ian Fells said this strategy failed to address the short-term shortfall.

“Let’s put it this way, the current UK energy policy is not fit for purpose,” he told reporters at a briefing in central London.

“Something has to be done about it if we are not going to run into serious problems in the middle of the next decade.”

Read the rest of this article by Mark Kinver, Science and environment reporter, BBC News

UK experts give blackouts warning

Some energy experts asked by BBC News warn the UK could face an unacceptable risk of major blackouts in less than 10 years unless policy is improved.

They said the government has dithered for too long over policies vital to energy security and climate security.

Read the full story by Roger Harrabin, Environment analyst, BBC News