The Potential UK Planned Power Cuts and Work

National Grid has warned the UK public of the “unlikely” scenario of planned, rolling three-hour power cuts occurring throughout the UK. Those that are due to experience the power cuts will be informed the day before. How is this likely to affect the world of work?

Some businesses will be able to apply in advance for “protected site status”, which will allow them to be exempt from these power cuts. This status would apply to sites where the disconnection would cause “significant financial damage”, for example, manufacturers where furnaces run constantly. It also applies to other sites such as hospitals, railways, and armed force bases.

This means that many businesses will have to plan around these blackouts. There are a few options that you could take if you are unable to go ahead with your normal business operations without electricity. Firstly, you could consider purchasing backup power generators to ensure that certain equipment, such as IT servers, do not lose power. This is an extra cost, so you could only consider running a generator for equipment that is essential.

If your employees are able to work from home and the blackout is affecting your business premises, then you can request that they do so. Conversely, if the employee usually works from home, but the blackout is affecting the area in which they live and not your business premises, you could ask that they work from your premises for the relevant period of time.