The crumbling state of Britain’s electricity network was exposed yesterday when power station breakdowns caused the first energy shortage of the autumn.

National Grid was forced to call for more power from electricity generators after a series of unexpected breakdowns left the company with an insufficient safety cushion.

The company, which operates the electricity lines across Britain, requires a safety cushion of between 2,000 and 4,000 megawatts above peak demand. When it fell short yesterday, power suppliers were asked to bring all their available generating capacity online, including expensive oil-fired units.

The move came as Gordon Brown vowed to end the “dictatorship of oil” with a billion-pound plan to boost renewable energy supplies and make Britain more energy-efficient.

In a speech to the Scottish CBI, the Prime Minister renewed his call for greater energy independence, saying that the fluctuating cost of oil — which hit $147 a barrel in July — is harming the economy. “Today I set a new ambition, to free Britain from the dictatorship of oil,” he declared, announcing a new wind farm off Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and a pilot scheme for electric cars.

His statement echoed a pledge last week by Barack Obama, the American Democratic presidential candidate, who said that he wanted to end America’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil within ten years.

Mr Brown said: “A low-carbon society will not emerge from business as usual. It will require new thinking and new technologies, new forms of economic activity and social organisation, new forms of consumer behaviour and lifestyles and your creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship to unlock the talents and skills of UK companies.”

The statement came as the Government confirmed that it had been forced to abandon plans for families to receive a £50-£100 payment to help them with fuel bills this winter.

The Times revealed yesterday that plans to fund the £500 million scheme — to raise money from the energy companies by auctioning more carbon permits — had been scuppered by the European Union.

The revelation underscores the difficulty that ministers have faced with their attempts to help families through the economic downturn.

Other measures to alleviate fuel poverty, which form part of the Prime Minister’s economic recovery package, have been delayed twice and are expected at the end of next week. However, Mr Brown did promise “targeted support” for families when the package is published.

Analysts yesterday expressed concern about the state of the electricity generating infrastructure. It has been described as “crumbling” and “inadequate” for 21st-century use and the industry estimates that it will need to spend £100 billion building a new generation of power stations. David Porter, chief executive of the Association of Electricity Producers, said: “We are reaching a point where we will have to spend more on infrastructure than has ever been done before in this country.”

The problems were caused by a loss of power because of breakdowns over the past two days. Some of the plants that experienced problems included British Energy’s Eggborough power station, Drax and E.ON’s Kingsnorth and Killinghome stations.

Britain’s power capacity is generally reduced during the summer for maintenance, which exacerbated yesterday’s problems. Most companies do not return to full generating capacity until after the clocks are turned back an hour in the autumn.

— A radical plan for hospitals, councils and other public sector bodies to purchase bulk oil collectively on the futures market is being proposed by one of England’s largest local authorities. In an attempt to cope with rising energy costs, Kent County Council has written to ask if they would be willing to join forces to buy fuel. A meeting of local authorities will take place next month to discuss the plan.

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