The UK could see blackouts, with people asked to cook their dinner later or turn their lights off to reduce energy consumption, as drought conditions hit hydroelectric power and put further strain on energy supplies, experts believe.
Norway, known as the battery of Europe due to its large hydro energy capacity, has warned it may have to introduce curbs on exports.
The drought spanning much of western and northern Europe has caused reservoir levels in parts of Norway to plunge to more than 25 percent below what would be normal for this time of year, according to Morten Frisch, a Norwegian energy consultant based in the UK, who said remaining reserves may need to be “drastically curtailed”.
A 1.4-gigawatt power cable between Norway and the UK which opened last year can supply up to 1.4 million British homes. The UK’s electricity demand soars to around 58 gigawatts during the winter.
Mr. Frisch told me: “The consequences of not receiving this power from Norway would be that if a plant goes out in the UK, there could be blackouts The water levels in Norway are now at the point where it’s probably going to take two summers to build it up again.
“Yesterday afternoon and early evening, the UK was importing about 0.7 gigawatts of hydroelectric power from Norway.
“This was the case, although it is my understanding from newspapers at home that Norway, in a diplomatic way, has informed the United Kingdom, ‘could you please stop doing this? because we are now nearing water levels in some of our major hydroelectric water reservoirs where we might have to stop producing hydropower.”
Britain is at a strategic advantage compared to other European countries through access to our own North Sea gas reserves, steady imports from reliable partners as well as pipeline connections to Norwegian gas fields, the second largest LNG port infrastructure in Europe, and a gas supply underpinned by robust legal contracts.
