Fears are growing that power outages could affect food supplies this winter as the energy crisis deepens.
The Politics Home website revealed earlier this week that officials from Defra have asked food industry groups for their views on how major power outages could affect food supplies in the UK.
It said the department told industry figures that it considers a blackout to be a theoretical possibility, and has asked them to advise on what food supply chains would be most vulnerable in that scenario.
Bloomberg reported that the UK is planning for several days over the winter when cold weather may combine with gas shortages, leading to organised blackouts for industry and even households.
A government spokesperson told Politics Home they didn’t expect blackouts to happen but wanted to ensure “we are ready for all eventualities”.
The surging cost of energy is expected to have a devastating effect on households over the coming months. A rise in the energy price cap is set to see the cost of a typical annual household energy bill hit £3,600 a year in October and more than £4,200 in January 2023, according to analysis by Cornwall Insight.
Hospitality sector businesses are likely to feel the impact both through the skyrocketing cost of their own energy supply and a sharp drop in customers’ disposable incomes.
Some businesses within the sector are looking at on-site generation as a means of mitigating the energy price increase. Adnams distribution centre in Reydon, Suffolk already has an array of solar panels and chief executive Andy Wood told Footprint recently that the business would look at additional on-site energy generation opportunities across its estate of pubs and hotels.
