In light of the National Grid urging companies to cut their use of electricity as demand soared, EFT Energy Consultants, a company that helps businesses make savings on their energy consumption, is advising businesses to take action on their overall energy use, to avoid bearing the brunt of future sudden power cuts and blackouts.
This is the first time National Grid has had to use “last resort” emergency powers to inform companies to reduce their use of electricity in a bid to avoid the risk of blackouts and protect energy supplies.
On Wednesday 4th November, National Grid issued an urgent request for energy companies to make additional power available following numerous failures at UK power stations. This enabled power firms to dramatically increase prices as a result of the demand.
National Grid asked companies to reduce their power demand immediately through issuing a demand-side balancing reserve (DSBR) notice to those firms that have signed a contract to agree they will participate in the demand reduction scheme in exchange for a payment.
Chris Jenkins, managing director of EFT Energy Consultants, said:
“The situation faced by National Grid this week is a clear sign that businesses simply cannot risk using unnecessary amounts of electricity. Large companies and those with high energy use in particular need to be proactive in managing their business’ energy use, otherwise they will be the ones who will suffer when critical situations like this occur, and it is likely they will happen again.
“The UK power system is under increasing tension and this is clear evidence of that fact. Companies should therefore not rest on their laurels and take immediate action to run an energy efficient business and avoid the increased expense associated with electricity demands.”
