just keeps getting more toxic . . .

Not since the early 1970s when the three-day week was introduced to preserve coal has Britain faced the prospect of reationing energy use. The gap between Britain’s energy needs and demand throws fresh doubt on the Government’s assertion that renewable energy can make up for dwindling nuclear and coal capabilities. Over the next 10 years, one third of Britain’s power-generating capacity needs to be replaced with cleaner fuels. But last night the Conservatives said that Labour had refused to face up to the problem. The admission that Britain will face power-cuts is contained in a document that accompanied the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan, which was launched in July. Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, outlined the plan amid much fanfare. Under the plan, 40 per cent of the UK’s electricity will need to come from low-carbon energy sources including clean coal, nuclear and renewables. Accompanying the report is an appendix, only published online, which warns of power shortages. It details supplies and expected demand between now and 2030. It highlights the first short-fall in 2017. The “energy unserved” level reaches 3000 megawatt hours per year. That is the equivalent of the whole of the Nottingham area being without electricity for a day. By 2025 the situation worsens with the shortfall hitting 7000 megawatt hours per year. That is the equivalent to an hour-long power cut for half of Britain. Greg Clark, the shadow climate and energy change secretary, said: “Britain faces blackouts because the Government has put its head in the sand about Britain’s energy policy for a decade. Over the next 10 years we need to replace one third of our generating capacity but Labour has left it perilously late, and has been forced to admit they expect power cuts for the first time since the 1970s.