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Warnings over rolling power cuts as UK faces energy shortage this winter

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ENERGY users in the UK should be braced for the possibility of rolling power cuts this winter – the stark warning comes after a warning on Thursday (Oct 6) from National Grid.

The electricity and gas system operator has said households could face a series of three-hour power cuts if Vladimir Putin shuts off gas supplies from Russia, and Britain experiences a cold snap akin to 2018’s “beast from the east”.

Although National Grid has labelled the scenario “unlikely”, the emergency plan has prompted memories of persistent power outages in the 1970s and brought into focus the process by which people are cut off.

Households are being offered £10 a day to cut electric usage at peak times in a bid to avoid winter blackouts.

The deal relies however on smart meters which are unreliable and have been installed in around only half of homes and small businesses.

Customers would be warned in advance of the blackouts which are likely to occur in the morning peak or between 4pm and 7pm.

A move to implement power cuts would need approval from the Government and King Charles, who would need to sign off an emergency Privy Council order.

The number of homes left without electricity would depend on how many power plants need to be shut down because of gas shortages.

The system of rota disconnection, or rota load-shedding, is designed to equally share out the available power in a country or region through strategic shutdowns. In Great Britain, consumers in different parts of the country would be notified a day in advance of a three-hour block of time during which they would lose power. Households in different areas would then be cut off at different times or days, with the frequency rising depending on the severity of the supply shortage. The process is in legislation under the Electricity Supply Emergency Code.

There are 14 licensed areas of the country; within these, there are smaller areas on different circuits that have a timetable for cutoffs. The aim is to reduce power usage by about 5% through the three-hour disconnections. Consumers would typically be notified with a text message, similar to when there is a planned outage for maintenance work. An emergency public information campaign by National Grid and the government would be deployed across radio, billboards and social media platforms to urge people to use less energy. Liz Truss has so far resisted calls to ask people to use less energy.

Echoes of Christmas 1970

The 1970s are a decade remembered for industrial strife, particularly the Three-Day-Week of 1974 and 1979’s Winter of Discontent.

The pattern of dispute and disruption was set at the start of the decade, when in the run up to Christmas 1970 the country was crippled by power cuts as the result of industrial action.

As the lights went out, folk had to carry on with their daily lives as best they could – and this picture shows just that.

The photograph was taken on Thursday, December 10, 1970, and shows Mr W.R. Grice and his son Richard using candles and a camping gas lantern as they serve customers at their newsagent’s shop in Ablewell Street in Walsall, West Midlands.

The power cuts came about when electricity supply workers started an overtime ban and a work-to-rule. They were expecting it to be three or four weeks before there were any power cuts, plenty of time to bring pressure on the government and negotiate better terms.

However, it seems that everyone had underestimated the precarious state of the nation’s electricty supply, and the first power cut came just eight hours after the work-to-rule began.

As the the days went by there were more and more outages and widespread disruption, and newspapers were filled with tales of hospitals cancelling operations because of them, with the army drafted in to man emergency generators and keep patients alive.

The public turned against the power workers and after just a week negotiations had begun and the action called off.

The lights were back on but the effect of disrupting the nation’s electricity supply had been demonstrated for all to see. Britain relied on coal for three-quarters of its power supply – the stage was set for a decade of industrial unrest and disruption.

Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

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NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

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