Whitehall’s ‘potty’ plan to keep NI lights on if no Brexit deal | Politics | The Guardian
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A flotilla of barges would be sent to the coast of Northern Ireland with energy generators after Brexit to keep the region’s lights on in the event of no deal, according to reports on Wednesday.
The scheme, which has been described as “potty” by business leaders in Northern Ireland, is said to be part of contingency planning by Whitehall mandarins in case the UK crashes out of the EU, smashing Ireland’s all-island electricity supply in its wake.
The issue has arisen because Northern Ireland relies on imports from Ireland for electricity supply as part of a ground-breaking single energy market deal struck in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement.
According to a leak to the Financial Times, the plan would involve bringing back equipment from military zones such as Afghanistan to build up capacity in the Irish Sea.
Thousands of electricity generators would have to be requisitioned at short notice.
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It's an extreme potential outcome but nevertheless they are making contingency plans for it.