Analysis: UK energy policy is in disarray - but blackouts are unlikely

Ministers have been forced to reassure consumers and business that the latest changes to the government's flagship energy market reforms will deal with any supply problems, illustrating how desperate matters have become

"Keeping the lights on" is supposed to be the primary duty of energy policy: for good reason.

Blackouts are not just difficult for consumers, but dangerous. Our basic infrastructure, from streetlighting to communications and home appliances, is entirely reliant on a dependable electricity supply, and businesses from retailers and offices to steelworks and food processors would be useless without it.