The energy crisis no one saw coming – podcast

A cold winter, a windless summer, and boom in business have combined to create an energy crisis that is hitting particularly hard in the UK. The Guardian's energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains how it happened - and what it will mean for people

The gas crisis that has plunged the UK's energy system into chaos took everybody by surprise - but in retrospect, the chain of events that led us here started almost a year ago. First, a particularly cold winter meant many people turned the heating up. Then factories and businesses started to turn up production as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Russia reduced its supplies to Europe. A windless summer reduced renewable input to the grid. And on top of all that, a fire in Kent shut down a vital power cable connecting Britain to mainland Europe.

The resulting crisis is likely to increase bills for months to come and put the wider economy under serious pressure - but most of us understand little about the system that gets power to our homes, or how changes in supply find their way to our bills. In this episode, Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose explains the origins of the crisis to Michael Safi and explores what it has revealed about the weaknesses in the UK's power system, how they can be fixed - and how serious the impact will be on ordinary people.