WORKERS at the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port were left without gas on Friday after fears were raised about domestic shortages.
The National Grid has told British Gas and other power firms to cut the supply to major corporate customers, in an attempt to preserve gas supply for households as the weather causes a surge in demand.
The Government has said that only 27 large factories have been affected, a sign that Britain’s energy infrastructure is being put under the strain during the big freeze.
A spokesman for Vauxhall said they had been asked on Monday evening by British Gas to stop using gas.
Since then they’ve used oil and will do so until British Gas tell them they can switch back to gas.
British Gas would not confirm that it had cut the gas to some factories but did admit that the problems were down to “transmission overload rather than supply shortages”.
A British Gas spokesman said there was if anything an oversupply of gas, but that there were problems moving it around the country.
Factories in the north-west of England and east Midlands are worst hit out of the 94 customers who have had gas supplies axed for the first time in up to 20 years, in some cases in a response to severe weather and creaking power infrastructure.