National Grid Facing Winter Energy Crunch

National Grid expects to activate special alerts to keep the lights on up to ten times this winter as the UK faces a tightening power supply, MPs have been told. The network already faced an energy crunch earlier this month when it had to enact exceptional measures, in order to shore up the electricity supply, for the first time in three years. National Grid sends out the alerts to ask power suppliers to increase generation when it faces a narrowing margin of supply and demand.