Workers at Britain's biggest power station have threatened to hold strikes which they claim will raise the risk of power cuts across the country.
The Unite union claims the walkouts will effectively shut down the Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, straining electricity supplies and making it harder to keep the lights on.
The station can generate up to four gigawatts of electricity at full capacity - or roughly 7% of national demand.
Unite's decision to hold industrial action on February 20 and 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 4, 10 and 17 follows a dispute between the union and managers over pay.
Around 180 of the power station's 470 staff will be involved in the strikes, after Unite members narrowly voted to reject the offer of a 8% pay increase.
The action "will close Drax down," the union claimed, warning that Britain "could face power cuts" as a result.
Staff reassigned
Drax denied the walkouts would render the power station inoperable. It is understood that non-striking staff could be reassigned to keep all four biomass-burning units online. A spokesman told the Telegraph the company had "robust plans in place."
Separately, the boss of one of Europe's largest energy suppliers has warned that factories and households will need to cut energy use even more to avoid another surge in oil and gas prices.
Anders Opedal, president and CEO of Equinor, said "a further reduction in demand" would be needed to help refill gas storage sites.
Russian supplies that helped fill storage stocks for this winter have been largely cut off,.
Mr Opedal said: "Most likely we'll also be able to refill the storage for next winter. But that will require a further reduction in demand.
"There are unknowns such as the weather, both in Europe and Asia. Any supply disruption will also have an impact on the market. So I would say it's a little bit of a nervous market going forward."
Both Europe and the UK have already cut energy use to get through this winter, with EU member states agreeing to cut gas demand by 15%. In the UK, the Government launched an energy-saving campaign.