Britain could face a winter of power outages and even a return to a three-day week when three power stations close next year.
The warning from the IndustrialCommunities Alliance came as it emerged two power stations inYorkshire will shut at the same time as Longannet in Fife.
The triple whammy has sparkedserious fears that the lights could go out in the winter of 2016/17.
The alliance, an all-party association of local authorities in the traditional industrial areas of the UK, said that at a stroke, the UK electricity grid could be left seriously short of capacity.
As the National Grid moved to quell concerns, the ICA insisted Britain was at “major risk” of blackouts.
It is now planning a nationalcampaign against the closures.
Meanwhile, leading employers’ organisation the CBI, said it was crucial that a significant level of investment was made to ensure future security.
Fife councillor Tom Adams, an ICA member, told The Courier: “It’s a lot more serious than people think.
“We honestly do believe the lights will start going out at the end of next year.”
The issue was discussed at the ICA’s recent national general meeting, and Mr Adams said: “Businesses wouldprobably start going offline first because that’s where they would look foremergency savings.
“We could end up going back to what happened during the miners’ strike of the 1970s when we had a three-day week.”
Mr Adams claimed not enough had been done to save Longannet and called for an urgent rethink.
The National Grid has offered an assurance that the market will provide a solution, a comment described by the ICA as unconvincing.
In a briefing paper to the ICA’smeeting, the alliance was told: “First up for power cuts in the event of a shortfall in electricity supply would be a number of big industrial users.
“Then the voltage on the grid would be reduced and then there would have to be controlled disconnections of households and other businesses.”
A CBI spokesman said: “Shoring up our energy supply for the future iscritical for businesses as they look to make long-term investment decisions.”