The BRITS are facing continued power cuts, with the Met Office accused of not giving enough warning about the current sub-zero weather.

Insiders believe that if experts had predicted freezing temperatures early enough, authorities could have stocked up on gas to meet demand.

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Instead, Britons could be hit with power cuts as National Grid struggles to cope, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Some Westminster sources have now questioned whether the Met Office’s work-from-home advice could be to blame for the failures.

One told the newspaper: ‘Is this another occasion where working from home has lowered the quality of public service?

Temperatures dropped to -17.3C as the cold snap gripped Britain this week.

Sources say forecasters have “significantly underestimated” the scale of the explosion in the Arctic.

They claim experts told then-Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg there was a ‘less than one in ten chance’ that temperatures would drop as low as they did .

The freezing weather saw National Grid trigger its backup power plan amid fears of power supply depletion.

It lit its units on coal for the first time this winter after previously saying they would only be deployed as a “last resort” to avoid blackouts.

Independent energy analyst Tony Jordan said: “The freezing conditions have caught meteorologists – and the National Grid which relies so heavily on them to plan our energy needs – off guard.

“We are far from clear when it comes to avoiding shortages and potentially even blackouts.”

Fears have been raised that three-hour power cuts could hit parts of the UK this winter.

Government documents seen by The Sun in October revealed plans for power cuts aimed at saving energy supplies.

Power cuts could be introduced in the event of an emergency scenario where there is a massive shortage of gas, which is used to generate electricity.

Last week the UK used up a fifth of all its stored gas in just six days as temperatures plummeted.

But ministers today urged Britons to have ‘confidence’ in supplies.

Oliver Dowden said only a “very, very extreme and unforeseen scenario” would lead to a network outage.

The weather is expected to improve from tomorrow with the mercury reaching 14°C in some areas.

But Britain is set to be hit first by freezing rain and snow today, bringing chaos to the roads.

The Met Office said it described a “likely scenario” of cold snaps with the threat of snow and ice in December which “has been widely observed”.

A Department of Energy said: “As a responsible government, we are continuously planning for a wide range of potential scenarios, working to prepare robust contingency plans to minimize any potential impact.

“It’s not a direct consequence of the current cold snap.”

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