Amid the discussions about the four-day working week, could a far more seismic prospect lie on the horizon: a return of the enforced three-day working week?
Some will recall the rolling power cuts of the 1970s, when fuel shortages and industrial action led to blackouts and forced businesses to shut down for part of the week in the name of conserving energy. For a long time, those dark days were behind us. But extreme weather, global energy volatility and ageing grid infrastructure are reminding us just how vulnerable we still are.
So far in 2025 we’ve experienced snowfall, flooding, the coldest night recorded in 15 years and a storm with over 100mph winds. Outages triggered by each of these types of weather events have the potential to deliver a crippling blow to businesses and the economy. In fact, analysis suggests that the cost to the economy of one of the UK’s most memorable storms, Storm Arwen in 2021, was a staggering £300m.
More recently, Storm Éowyn, which hit the UK and Ireland at the end of January, left 750,000 homes and businesses without power in Ireland alone and, a week later, over 100,000 people were still without electricity. It’s impossible to ignore the knock-on effects: employees unable to work, businesses hit by operational delays and lost revenue and livelihoods thrown into uncertainty.
Cities won’t be safe from disruption
And this isn’t just a rural problem. Cities, including the UK’s financial heartlands, are in the firing line too. During Storm Bert in November last year, for example, a power cut at Euston Station brought travel to a halt, leaving thousands stranded and proving that urban areas are just as vulnerable as the countryside. Similar chaos during December’s Storm Darragh disrupted an economically crucial pre-Christmas weekend, likely impacting consumer spending.
We’re now seeing extreme-weather-induced power cuts impact travel services, shutter high streets and spark urgent calls for the public to stay home on a regular basis. For high-street businesses, cafes and shops, this kind of disruption is no minor inconvenience. Even businesses equipped for remote working aren’t shielded. Power cuts caused by extreme weather affect us all. Widespread outages bring production to a standstill, hit broadband connections, stall supply chains and shut down operations.
Ageing infrastructure will a fuel a costly throwback
These disruptions could throw us back into the economic paralysis of the 1970s. But, unlike that era, the problem isn’t a lack of fuel, it’s that our ageing infrastructure wasn’t built to handle the increasing frequency and severity of storms or the ever-growing demand for electricity. If we don’t act, we risk a future where blackouts aren’t just a result of external factors, but of a grid that’s buckling under the pressure of our daily realities. Before long, we could be right back in a world of scheduled blackouts and energy rationing.
The solution will undoubtedly involve building new infrastructure, but much of our resilience will also depend on fortifying what we already have. AI and digital modelling, for example, can help utilities spot weak points before they cause failures, predict the impact of extreme weather and plan appropriate reinforcements where it matters most. The more we can anticipate problems, the less likely we are to see widespread, or prolonged, outages.
But while storms batter the UK’s infrastructure, there’s another major threat compounding our energy woes: gridlock. UK renewables projects are currently waiting up to 14 years for a grid connection. Just last month, connection application requests were suspended in an attempt to tackle the backlog. With the government’s ambitious growth agenda, every new infrastructure project – from schools and hospitals to housing developments – will require reliable power connections.
The Netherlands as a cautionary commercial tale
We only need to look at the Netherlands – my home country – for a glimpse of the economic toll a gridlock can take. Despite leading Europe on the green energy front, the country’s electricity infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with its rapid growth, leaving thousands of companies, including those simply trying to install EV charging points, in limbo. Delays are making investors nervous, with Dutch employers warning that these bottlenecks are discouraging business investment in the country. Work is underway to address these challenges, including heavy investment in grid upgrades and the adoption of technologies like digital modelling. But while progress is being made, the economic cost of delays remains significant; estimates suggest the Netherlands loses up to €35bn (£29bn) in potential benefits each year while these solutions are being implemented.
This offers a cautionary tale for the UK: if we don’t address gridlock, it may undermine confidence in the country as a place to do business. And, if left unchecked, gridlock also stands to trigger its own wave of power outages; according to a report by think-tank Public First, by 2028, UK energy demand could outstrip capacity by 7.5GW during peak times – that’s enough to power over 7 million households – making blackouts a real risk.
The blackout bill could cost the UK its competitive edge
Businesses can’t afford to be complacent. Just as cybersecurity threats pushed resilience to the top of corporate agendas, energy security needs the same focus. From backup power solutions to pushing policymakers and utilities to accelerate grid improvements, companies should take a proactive role in safeguarding their operations.
We may not be in a 1970s-style situation yet, but if we don’t act soon, we’ll be saddled with a blackout bill that sees small businesses close, throws supply chains into chaos and chips away at the UK’s competitive edge.
Taco Engelaar is managing director at software company Neara
Amid the discussions about the four-day working week, could a far more seismic prospect lie on the horizon: a return of the enforced three-day working week?
Some will recall the rolling power cuts of the 1970s, when fuel shortages and industrial action led to blackouts and forced businesses to shut down for part of the week in the name of conserving energy. For a long time, those dark days were behind us. But extreme weather, global energy volatility and ageing grid infrastructure are reminding us just how vulnerable we still are.
So far in 2025 we’ve experienced snowfall, flooding, the coldest night recorded in 15 years and a storm with over 100mph winds. Outages triggered by each of these types of weather events have the potential to deliver a crippling blow to businesses and the economy. In fact, analysis suggests that the cost to the economy of one of the UK’s most memorable storms, Storm Arwen in 2021, was a staggering £300m.
