Britain Unprepared for Severe Blackouts, Secret Government Report Reveals
from The Telegraph
By Emily Gosden, Energy Editor
Britain is unprepared for prolonged blackouts, with increased death rates, rising public disorder and high-risk criminals on the loose among the likely consequences if major energy networks are seriously damaged, a secret Government security assessment has found.
The UK’s contingency plans for severe power cuts are based on numerous flawed or untested assumptions and need to be revised, according to documents obtained by the Telegraph.
The assessment, codenamed Exercise Hopkinson, examined what would happen if a severe storm knocked out crucial energy infrastructure in south west England, plunging two million homes into darkness for up to two weeks.
Transport networks would be paralysed and emergency services would struggle to cope, fuel to run backup generators may be inaccessible and the dead may not be buried, it found.
The assessment, which involved officials from all key departments and major industries, took place this summer following 12 months of preparation.
Read more at: The Telegraph