National Grid ‘made emergency requests to Europe for help to avert blackouts across the south-east’

Britain asked Europe for emergency help yesterday amid fears that hundreds of thousands of homes could face electricity blackouts, according to reports.

England faced its latest energy scare on Wednesday, as urgent requests were allegedly made to secure extra power following a supposed fault on the southern England network. 

After calls for emergency assistance, The Times reported that exports to France were first cut back before subsea cable imports from the Netherlands were boosted. 

Rejection of these asks could have forced the National Grid to close down any power exports that may have been draining the nation’s supplies, it was claimed. 

Britain was compelled to ask Europe for emergency help yesterday amid fears that hundreds of thousands of homes could be faced with electricity blackouts, reports say (file image)

Phil Hewitt, who works at the consultancy of EnAppSys told the newspaper that this type of assistance is ‘unusual’ and only happens a few times throughout the year. 

He also added that the incident shows a ‘need to invest in more transmission capacity’ of power received in the southeast of the UK.

The problem experienced was said to have prevented power being transported from the north to the south of the UK where demand was higher.

The scare comes at a time when sweeping blackouts are already being felt by many Britons amid rocketing energy prices. 

One million homes and businesses have rushed to sign up to a scheme that pays them to turn off washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and, even, the lights. 

The National Grid has said the great British switch off, called the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), could become a feature of British life.

Craig Dyke, who leads the project, has refused to rule out using the ‘world-leading’ scheme every winter, saying it will ‘drive forward towards net zero’. 

Asked if it could become a feature of British life each winter, Mr Dyke told the BBC: ‘It’s something we strongly believe in. This is the start of something much, much bigger’. 

MailOnline has approached the National Grid for comment.