The UK is on a path to rolling blackouts - and it's closer than you think

But just earlier this month, the British government was warned that it was on an ‘inexorable path to blackouts’ because of issues facing the electricity grid.

As well as a backlog of routine maintenance, chief among the issues is a bloated connection queue blocking buildout of capacity and a host of desperately needed upgrades.

Solving these issues is not only necessary to avoid blackouts and keep the grid stable, but it's also crucial for the country’s place as a competitor in the global economy.

While the government has dismissed the claims of blackouts as fearmongering, issues with connecting energy projects to the grid are not new, and claims of significant under-delivery are, unfortunately, a reality.

Ofgem itself has said that 210 of the 340 green energy projects scheduled to connect to the grid this year and next are expected to miss the target.

While the path to blackouts isn’t inevitable, we can’t afford to be lax about the threat they pose.

And that threat has become even more acute because of the mammoth increase in demand from datacentres powering the rapidly increasing adoption of A.I., a demand that is scaling much faster than the grid can adapt.

The problem is not enough capacity and a growing number of projects waiting to be connected.

So what can be done to mitigate the threat of blackouts, however remote, while also keeping the UK on track to meet its net zero targets?

Obviously, the process of grid connection, maintenance and upgrading needs to be looked at, and it's heartening to see Ofgem and the government acknowledging this need; with the former launching a sweeping review into grid connection and the latter vowing to remove so-called ‘zombie projects’ in favour of ‘shovel-ready’ plans.

However, these long-term plans don’t meet the scale or urgency of the issue. Another solution is needed.

But there is a way to generate energy that contributes to the country’s energy mix, reduces pressure on the grid and doesn’t need to wait in the lengthy connection queue. And it is already receiving bipartisan political support.

Direct energy supplies, known as ‘Behind the Meter’, generate, store and manage energy on the customer side of the utility meter.

In the simplest terms, it’s the solar panels on top of your house. But on an industrial scale, it’s putting panels on the roofs and land adjacent to energy-intensive industrial sites. It acts as a powerful and necessary part of keeping the lights on in the UK.

At Alight, we see firsthand how firms and industries use Behind-the-meter solutions because they help them plan around grid uncertainty and generate electricity now.

But it goes beyond keeping the lights on - a robust and resilient energy system is a form of national independence, giving the UK the tools to prosper. And in light of shocks like the war in Ukraine, the benefit of making sure that the energy mix is diverse (and based on sources that can be generated within the country, like wind and solar) should be more apparent than ever.

OFGEM has warned that the pipeline of projects awaiting connection to the electricity network had tripled in just seven months, driven by growth in data centre demand.

Behind the Meter has broad bipartisan support, even from parties and interests you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be in favour of green transition infrastructure like Reform. Figures of every persuasion are getting behind local Behind the Meter projects, after realising what they can mean for industry and energy infrastructure in their patch.

An increase in buildout of Behind-the-Meter solar and energy storage could massively reduce pressure on our energy system. While the government's generational upgrade of our energy system is hugely welcome, it’s slow. If the government wanted to ease the pressure on them in the meantime, planning and permitting reform that makes it easier to use land for energy generation would be a great place to start.

The rate at which technology and energy demand are moving necessitates a solution that can be brought online more quickly. That solution could be as simple as building our infrastructure on the other side of the grid.

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Rob Stait is Managing Director at Alight, a leading European solar developer and power producer.

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