Blackout could hike bills

NATIONAL Grid could face a £170m bill to prevent power cuts like those which swept the country last week.

The firm may have to double what it pays contractors who provide rapid back-up power during blackouts, consultant Aurora Energy Research said.

It comes after nearly 1m people across England and Wales lost electricity last Friday when two stations failed.

At present, the Grid pays £170m a year to contractors who operate battery plants and emergency generators, which can be used at a moment’s notice to keep the lights on.

If this was hiked to £340m, Aurora said, it would help prevent future meltdowns.

The worst-hit areas last Friday were in South-East England, where the blackouts caused widespread disruption to rail services. In the immediate aftermath, the Government ordered an investigation into the cause of the power cuts and told National Grid to report back by today.

John Pettigrew, the company’s boss, has claimed more money could be spent on back-up power technology but that this would have to be paid for through households energy bills. He said: ‘Customers would pay for that.’ According to Aurora, if spending on rapid response back-up power were doubled, it would cost Britain’s 27m households about £2.10 each a year, on top of the average £1,200 energy bill.

This is because they currently represent about one third of total power usage – meaning their share of the extra cost would be roughly £57m.