Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has warned that the province will need more energy than can be supplied by 2021.

Energy bills are expected to rise significantly, unless work begins shortly on a cross-border interconnector, according to the committee. Its latest report says: “The province already faces the highest energy prices in the UK, and this is set to get worse unless a secure electricity supply is established quickly.”

The report says it is “crucial for the North/South interconnector to clear the final planning stages and for construction to begin as soon as possible, to ensure that it is operational ahead of 2021.”

Mr Kinahan, a member of the committee, said: “ ‘The clock is ticking’ to remedy a crisis that has been looming for years”. He added that unless the interconnector is established or new means of generation are developed “this could mean the lights going out for local households and businesses”.

The South Antrim MP said that the lack of an Executive is exacerbating the problem, “with no minister in place to take strategic decisions.

If action is not taken soon, we could find ourselves drifting towards an energy crisis. We have got old power stations that are coming to the end of their useful life, and we have an electricity grid that does not reach everywhere, so that not all the wind farms we are building can get onto it. Added to that, we have a slow planning process.”

Laurence Robertson MP, chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said that establishing a secure electricity supply must be a priority for both the Stormont Assembly and Westminster, adding: “The region already faces the highest energy prices in the UK, causing significant harm to the competitiveness of businesses based here and creating unacceptable levels of fuel poverty. This must not be allowed to get any worse.”