Western Europe is baking. Thermometers across the continent have shattered records this week, with Paris hitting 42.6C and Berlin 41.
3C. But while governments scramble to keep citizens cool, the real story is the UK's power grid. Sources confirm that National Grid has quietly passed a series of stress tests designed to simulate worst-case scenarios.
Documents obtained by this newsroom reveal that the grid held up under conditions of 50 per cent higher demand than last year's heatwave. The question isn't whether the grid can handle the heat: it's who stands to profit. Energy companies are already celebrating.
Shell and BP have reported a 15 per cent jump in profits from electricity trading. Meanwhile, a leaked memo from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows that the government is considering lifting restrictions on gas-fired power stations. The cost of these record temperatures?
The public will pay. Again. The tests were conducted in secret last month, with only a handful of officials aware of the results.
But National Grid confirmed that the system withstood a surge in air conditioning usage that would have knocked out power to millions in a less robust network. 'The grid is resilient,' a spokesperson said. 'We have invested heavily in capacity and backup systems.
' That investment, however, has come at a price. Consumer energy bills have risen by 23 per cent in the past year. The heatwave is a stress test for more than just the grid.
It's a stress test for the government's energy policy. And so far, the signs are not good. The record temperatures are a symptom of the climate crisis.
But the response from Westminster has been to embrace the very fossil fuels that caused it. The grid's resilience is good news for now. But if this is the new normal, we need a plan that doesn't depend on emergency measures and corporate profits.
