The country has been put on notice that the chances of gas shortages this winter have risen markedly, prompting a contingency plan to prioritise heating. National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) warned that planned three-hour power blackouts could be imposed in some areas, in the "unlikely" event supplies of gas fall short of demand. It revealed the measure in an update on the UK's state of energy readiness for the cold months ahead but it said that the risk of temporary power cuts could be avoided with help from the public. The report showed, under a base case scenario, that...