Big energy users face 'amber power alerts' this winter           

Commercial users could be warned to power down to ensure households do not face blackouts

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities says system alerts for large users cannot be ruled out. 

Big commercial users of electricity face the risk of "amber alerts" this winter to ensure households do not face blackouts as generating supply remains slender. 

The warning comes from the regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, or CRU, which says system alerts for large users cannot be ruled out even as risks have declined with the return of generators at Whitegate and Huntstown in the coming weeks.