This amount of power is equivalent to the surge you would expect during the half time of a sporting event, when everyone rushes to boil the kettle at once. More power was requested after several plant breakdowns occured during the month of October.
A statement said: "National Grid has issued a notice to the industry...asking for more generation to be brought on to the system.
"This is part of our standard toolkit for balancing supply and demand and is not an indication there is an immediate risk of disruption or supply or blackouts. It indicates that we would like our power held in reserve to be higher.
"This Notification of Inadequate System Margin (NISM) is a result of multiple plant breakdowns."
But how will this surge affect consumers? The increased need for power to be generated will create more work for the energy companies. This means that there is a chance the consumer will have to pay for this inconvenience by small fees being added to both domestic and commercial bills over the winter months.
Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy said: "The chopping and changing of energy policy under the Government is creating an energy security crisis. It is preventing investment we now urgently need to keep the lights on and it could cause household bills to rise."
This hasn't stopped the speculators however, many of the nation's publications reported fears of running out of electricity as the coldest winter looms over the UK. While this is the first time that a request like this has been made for three years, there is no need to worry currently, should there be concern with the nation's energy supply you can be sure that an official notice will be made.
In the mean time, it's worth keeping in mind that energy bills always rise over the winter, in particular due to turning on central heating, so always make sure that the rates you are paying are the most competitive. For more information visist energyadviceline.org.uk