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U.K. Power Supply Under Threat

Aug. 10, 2022 (EIRNS)—So reports Britain’s Guardian on Aug. 8, which notes that the U.K. imports large amounts of electricity from Norway, but that these “may be slashed in the coming months due to a hydropower shortage” in Norway, as a result of low water levels that threaten domestic hydroelectric power output. Oslo’s Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland said electricity production in southern Norway has already dropped 18% compared to last year, while output last week in the southwest was the lowest so far this year. They don’t expect to have to ration this winter, but supply interruptions are likely next April or May.

Already the energy situation in Britain is dire, and it is provoking social explosions. According to CNN, nearly one-third of households in the United Kingdom will face poverty this winter after paying energy bills that are set to soar again in January, according to estimates from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. According to this report, about 10.5 million households will be in fuel poverty by early 2023, meaning that their income after paying for energy will fall below the poverty line. The predictions are based on new estimates from research firm Cornwall, which forecasts that January energy bills will be 116% higher than current bills.

There are multiple press reports that some 75,000 U.K. citizens are threatening to simply stop paying their energy bills in protest over the crisis.

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