Households in Britain are being warned that they could lose power for up to three hours at a time this winter if gas supplies run extremely low.

National Grid has said that it was an “unlikely” scenario but cautioned that supply interruptions were a possibility in light of the current energy crisis, which could yet get worse.

The potential power cuts are likely to take place at times of high demand, possibly in the morning, or more likely between 4pm and 9pm.

It is understood that the power cuts would be rotated so not all areas of the country were impacted at the same time.

Prime minister Liz Truss previously pledged during her campaign to be Conservative Party leader that there would be no energy rationing this winter.

But when asked yesterday if she could guarantee there would be no blackouts, the prime minster said: “What we’re clear about is that we do have a good supply of energy in the UK, we’re in a much better position than many other countries, but of course there’s always more we can do and that’s why I’m here working with our partners making sure we do have a secure energy supply into the future”.

National Grid said that the UK, heavily reliant on gas to produce electricity, was facing “unprecedented turmoil and volatility” in the energy markets as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Jonathan Rolande of the National Association of Property Buyers is calling on government ministers to provide regular updates in the wake of an announcement.

Rolande said: “People will be rightly concerned about this warning and the fact the National Grid is issuing it now indicates there is a real risk it could happen.

“Ministers really need to take the lead in this area and to provide regular advice. But even in the worst case scenario there are a number of things households can do to ensure that their lives aren’t too badly disrupted by blackouts.”