A dramatic lightning storm swept across the United Kingdom overnight, triggering a national grid alert as power surges and outages hit homes and businesses from Cornwall to the Highlands. The Met Office issued an amber warning for thunderstorms, with over 50,000 lightning strikes recorded in a six-hour period. National Grid declared a 'notification of inadequate system resources' after a sudden drop in frequency caused by the extreme weather, prompting fears of blackouts for millions.
Energy suppliers urged customers to reduce usage, but for many households already struggling with soaring bills, the warning was yet another blow. In Manchester’s working-class suburbs, residents reported flickering lights and brief power cuts. 'We can’t afford to lose any more money on spoiled food,' said Julie Armstrong, a care worker whose freezer defrosted after a two-hour outage.
The storm comes as the energy price cap rises again, with typical annual bills now exceeding £2,500. Unions representing grid workers called for urgent investment in infrastructure, pointing to years of underfunding. 'The system is creaking,' said a GMB spokesperson.
'It’s the working people who pay the price.' As dawn broke, engineers worked to restore full capacity, but with climate scientists linking the extreme weather to a warming planet, many are asking how long the grid can hold.
