The British grid operator said Thursday that customers could experience short-term outages during the winter in the event of severe limits on volumes of natural gas but added that such an event is unlikely.
Western sanctions imposed on Russia for the February invasion of Ukraine target the exports of major commodities such as crude oil and natural gas. The Kremlin has responded with threats to cut off supplies to the region.
The National Grid, tasked with keeping power supplied to the United Kingdom, said the invasion of Ukraine has upended global energy markets and should the Kremlin tighten supplies even further, it would mean short-term power disruptions for the upcoming winter heating season.
The grid operator, however, stressed that such an occurrence was unlikely and that its base-case estimates point to few problems during the winter months. Nevertheless, with Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly backed into a corner due to recent territorial losses in Ukraine, the sector is on guard for extremes.
