National Grid has warned that the UK could face blackouts this winter if gas power plants are not able to keep running due to the energy crisis. Whilst the risk is currently low, if the crisis continues to escalate, energy rationing and blackouts are a real possibility.

When asked by Sky News whether Britain could face blackouts or rationing, climate and energy minister Graham Stuart said:

“We don’t expect that to occur. That’s not our expectation at all.

“But you have seen all sorts of things happening in recent weeks and we plan for all eventualities and the public should be confident that we have a very strong and diverse supply, that we have taken all the steps to look after our needs for this winter.”

Why could winter blackouts happen?

Winter blackouts could happen if gas shortages and cold weather leave the UK without enough power. The energy grid needs to remain ‘Balanced” at all times. This means that the energy we take out needs to match the amount of energy being put into the grid, from wind farms, power plants and other sources at any given time.

Usually engineers plan for peak demand and ask the generators to meet that demand. But if an imbalance does occur it could cause major breakdowns in the grid, even causing physical damage which could take days to repair

When this occurs, sometimes engineers need to reduce demand by planned outages to avoid major damage.

And in these circumstances, the government would have to enact emergency measures to conserve power.

What can we do?

The bottom line is that we all need to be conscious of our consumption and save energy. This is something that Commulite have taken seriously for over 10 years.

Commulite’s luminaire’s use nearly a quarter less energy than other LED luminaires in normal use.

As a typical example, a Commulite system with 200 luminaires will make energy savings of 24000Kw per year which equates to £6250 per annum at the current energy rates, but obviously that figure is escalating as the energy crisis continues.

How do they do it?

Commulite was designed to have future-proofed luminaires and a system that has surpassed all other systems on the market for both efficiency and safety.

Commulite is unique in that each individual luminaire is programmable and can be addressed to emit the best light level for residents’ safety and comfort as well as maximum efficiency. Meaning no dark, scary corners but also no wasted energy in other areas. They provide optimum light levels at all times with automatic switching and daylight tracking.

With Commulite every luminaire is also an emergency light, so in a power out situation, the light levels remain constant throughout the building. What’s more, Commulite’s emergency lighting runs for a designed 9 hours, that’s 6 hours longer than the current statutory requirement, enough to get residents safely through the night.

They’ve always been a future thinking company, they continue to protect our clients' investments by building in long term benefits and protection against legislation upgrades. And now Commulite is protecting all of their clients’ residents and building users against potential blackouts.

Commulite is the emergency lighting system of choice of many local authorities and other social landlords for both their residential and commercial properties.

Call Commulite now to find out how we can help you save energy and costs, 01277 600 300 www.commulite.com