UK blackouts ‘much more likely’ as nuclear issues in France spark import fears

But Mr Cran-McGreehin said there could be a way of avoiding the emergency scenario without the need to import any energy from Europe, although he did stress that it would be a major challenge. 

He added: “In theory, we could meet our peak demand without imports, and regardless of wind levels, provided that all other power stations (nuclear, gas, coal, hydro, etc) operated at maximum output – but there are two major issues with that.

“Firstly, it would be very tight.  We can make the situation easier by using less electricity, especially in the evenings when demand is highest – large industrial customers have had these ‘demand-side response’ (DSR) contracts for decades, and now National Grid is also offering payments to households to cut peak demand.

“Secondly, it’s hard to guarantee that all of those other power plants would operate at maximum output – nuclear and coal power plants in particular have quite a high risk of faults.  

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1694925/UK-blackouts-energy-crisis-EDF-France-nuclear-issues-winter-darkness-power-news