Guardian: Preparedness exercises in Britain in the event of a multi-day blackout in the middle of winter

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The original worst-case scenario ‘Wildlife’ plan sees blackouts across Britain without warning for seven days in the winter – Following the developments in Ukraine the plan has been given added emphasis due to concerns about energy adequacy.

London: Thanasis Gavos

The British government has started carrying out exercises with the participation of ministries and municipalities for the possibility of power outages, as the Guardian newspaper reveals.

The drills are part of Program Yarrow, a plan which in a worst-case scenario sees blackouts across Britain without warning for seven days in the winter, with limited and intermittent power to homes and businesses from day two and after.

This plan was drawn up in 2001, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and primarily refers to the possibility of a blackout caused by some serious technical failure, e.g. from any flood or lightning damage to a critical facility.

However, it also foresees the intentional infliction of damage by an attack by a hostile agent on submarine cables.

According to the Guardian’s sources, following the developments in Ukraine the project has received additional emphasis due to energy sufficiency concerns.

Read more: More than a thousand “heating” shelters are being prepared in Kyiv in the event of a total blackout

The possibility of gas shortages this winter was covered by another action plan presented last month by Britain’s electricity system operator, National Grid.

That plan called for periodic three-hour outages across the country in January and February, but with early warning to affected areas.

The Agriapsithia Program predicts that all critical sectors will be affected by the possibility of the seven-day blackout: transport, food chain, water supply, communications, energy. The plan focuses on ensuring food, water and shelter for children and the elderly.

In this worst-case scenario, it is predicted that power will be 100% restored after the seventh day.

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