Gas-fired power plants in the UK may be switched off as part of plans to prevent blackouts in the winter, the Independent newspaper reported, citing sources.

The contingency plans are scheduled to be tested soon, government officials said. Such "exercises" may take place in September or October, during which gas-fired power plants may be turned off.

"We are experiencing very serious scenarios. These are not unlikely scenarios," one of the sources, who deals with energy planning, quotes the publication as saying.

According to the source, Norway may resort to the rationing of electricity exports, and the volume of supplies from France has already decreased. Electricity from these countries is used in millions of homes. With limited supplies from Norway and France, consumption rationing will be difficult to avoid.

Rationing can be a restriction of the use of electricity for more than six hours per day. "Forget about just working from home, it could be January with the slogan 'Unplug at home'," one official said.

According to the newspaper, officials and ministers recently held a series of meetings, during which they discussed the risks of a mass refusal of citizens to pay for energy.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy did not deny that the UK is facing an increased risk of an energy crisis that is more likely to result in long blackouts for a significant number of consumers.