Warning: ‘UK faces blackouts by 2035’

BRITAIN faces an energy crisis and blackouts by 2035 without an urgent drive to build more power stations.

- BY JONATHAN WALKER Whitehall Editor

Electricity demand is soaring because of the switch to electric vehicles and heat pumps replacing gas boilers, according to a study backed by Simon Case, the former head of the Civil Service.

But many existing nuclear and gas power stations are due to be decommissioned, while crippling red tape is preventing the building of new ones.

It means Britain risks energy shortages that will drive up industry costs and raise household electricity bills, a report published today shows.

A blackout was "narrowly avoided" in January, when low winds and dark skies hit solar and wind-farm generation.