Power cuts in Britain could become a regular occurrence

London, July 29 (UNI) Power cuts could become a regular occurrence in Britain if summers become hotter, driving up the demand for air-conditioning, energy specialists warned.

The warning came yesterday after the National Grid issued two power warnings within a week and parts of central London were left without power for a second day after a series of network failures.

EDF Energy, which supplies to the affected areas, said that although the failures were not caused by the weather itself, the system had been put under pressure by demand for air-conditioning and extra refrigeration.

Shops, theatres, bars and homes in central London suffered power cuts yesterday as high temperatures prompted soaring demand. Some seven hundred and sixty customers were without power yesterday but the cuts affected thousands more as shops were closed and theatre shows were cancelled. Theatregoers in the West End were forced to abandon plans to watch ''Whistle Down the Wind'' at the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus. The matinee show of Guys and Dolls at The Piccadilly Theatre was also affected when power was cut earlier in the day.

Tills, lightning and air conditioning at shops between Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road also stopped working.

EDF said it was working ''around the clock'' to fix the problems and was asking customers to turn off their air conditioning to ease demand.

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