National Energy System Operator: Blackout Risk

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Yes, that does make it very important that we continue decarbonising our energy systems to make sure that they are very resilient in a different climate that we will have in the future, and that the consequences of, for example, continuing to provide energy via high-carbon fossil fuels are countered by the systems being thoroughly low-carbon in the future. This has a bearing on the recent episodes as far as energy margin notices are concerned. We have had a period of extreme heat in the UK that is very likely the consequence of climate change, and this has produced some system resilience issues. However, the system was easily resilient enough to cope with that particular issue: there were no blackouts, there was no loss of power for customers or industry, and the stability of the system was maintained at around the 50 hertz mark at all times.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, does the episode not show that the integrity of the energy supply system is simply not fit for purpose? There is an overdependence on renewables that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I disagree with the noble Baroness. The recent episode showed that, even in relatively new circumstances of extreme heat—rather than the more normal issue of energy margin certificates being issued because of the effect of cold and winter on the system—the system stood up to it very well and managed to make sure that customers were not deprived of their power. As I said, the system was maintained to run at between 49.5 hertz and 50.5 hertz at all times. That is a sign that the changing nature of the system will be able to deal with these issues very well in the future.