When you think of lightbulb moments, you probably imagine a flash of genius or a sudden inspiration.
But Ofgem chair Jonathan Brearley had a very different type of lightbulb moment - and the timing could not have been worse.
As he addressed MPs today in a bid to assure them that the gas crisis would not cause winter blackouts in Britain the lights in room suddenly went out.
Awkward laughs ensued as one MP joked 'the lights have gone out', before another added: 'Don't worry it's not a security of supply issue.'
Fortunately the real reason for the sudden switch-off was far less dramatic.
'It's movement sensitive lights to save energy efficiency, just to reassure the committee,' Mr Brearley explained with a wry smile.
Pictured left: Ofgem chair Jonathan Brearley addresses the Commons energy committee today. But as talks to MPs in a bid to reassure them that gas crisis will not lead to blackouts, his lights suddenly went out (pictured right). He later explained it was due to the movement sensors
The momentary panic took place as Mr Brearley appeared via Zoom to give evidence to the Commons energy committee this morning.
During his evidence he spoke about the issues the country faces due to soaring natural gas prices.
He warned hundreds of thousands of Britons face being left in limbo when their energy supplier goes bust this winter.
The price of wholesale gas has surged by 250 per cent since the beginning of the year, with 70 per cent added since August alone, according to figures from Oil and Gas UK.
High global demand, maintenance issues with supply lines, a smaller supply coming from Russia, and lower solar and wind energy output are all being blamed.
Five firms have already gone bust and dozens more suppliers are expected to go under in the run up to Christmas due to the increased costs meaning they can no longer afford to meet set price tariffs agreed with their customers.
Mr Brearley told MPs: 'We do expect a large number of customers to be affected.
'We've already seen hundreds of thousands of customers affected, that may well go well above that.
'It's very hard for me to put a figure on it.'
Britons whose energy firms go bust are expected to be moved to larger energy firms as part of a scheme called 'supplier of last resort' - which aims to ensure customers are not left without supplies of gas and electricity.
Politicians have attempted to quell fears over potential blackouts, with business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisting there's 'absolutely no question of the lights going out' and that Britain has a reliable supply of gas.
It comes as ministers are today facing fury after agreeing to pour tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers money into a US firm run by a millionaire to avoid supermarket shortages.
An deal is being finalised that will see CF Industries paid to restart production of CO2 after it closed down two UK sites because a surge in natural gas prices made them unprofitable.
The Teesside and Cheshire sites supply 60 per cent of Britain's carbon dioxide (CO2) – which is essential for food production and packaging.
Environment Secretary George Eustice today insisted the deal would be 'temporary' lasting three weeks and had been agreed after a 'perfect storm' hit production.
He claimed that 'Christmas is safe' from the impact of soaring energy prices, and the increase in the price of carbon dioxide would not have a 'major impact on food prices' because it was only a 'tiny proportion' of overall costs.
But the deal currently being hammered out by lawyers, was blasted by Tory MPs and free market organisations, who said reform of the market was required to prevent one firm having such a stranglehold.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Sun: 'This should be a very time-limited operation and must be suspended as soon as they can ship CO2 into the UK from elsewhere.
'The bigger longer term problem is supply of energy - successive governments have taken their eye off the ball of energy security, which we are no longer producing here in this country. We won't survive if we go on like this.'
And Labour's shadow business secretary Ed Miliband added: 'We welcome that this short-term deal has been struck, but the Government must urgently engage with unions and the wider manufacturing industry, and explain the contingency plans in place in case issues are not resolved in three weeks.'
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwateng told MPs today that there was 'no question of us writing a cheque to that company indefinitely'.
Environment Secretary George Eustice today insisted the deal would be 'temporary' lasting three weeks and had been agreed after a 'perfect storm' hit production.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Sun: 'This should be a very
