A dim winter for Europe as risks of blackouts rise

Paris

THE risk of blackouts in Europe will grow in the coming winter as thermal power-generating capacity has been shuttered amid the region's economic slump and a greater reliance on renewables, a study warned.

"Security of supply is threatened this year in parts of Europe," Cap Gemini said in its European Energy Markets Observatory report, which cited Belgium as an example and said there's more risk for nations like France from 2015.