AFTER only a few cold days, the newly-privatised National Grid is threatening power cuts.

In 1987 when temperatures fell to minus 16C, the then nationalised grid coped perfectly well. Significantly, the National Grid has entered into a discount scheme with British Gas. It involves gas-fired power stations getting cut-price fuel supplies. But the deal demands that the stations agree to stop generating if demand for gas soars.

As it is inevitable that gas demands will rise in cold weather, as will demand for electricity, it is not surprising that the scheme has resulted in five large power stations shutting down during the recent freeze.

The drive for profit has once again put the supply of an essential utility at risk. It is a scandal that Offer, the electricity regulatory body, has failed to prevent, although belatedly it is now calling for the regulations about these agreements to be changed.

The sooner they are, the better it will be for consumers who should never have to face blackouts because of a shortfall in supply.

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