ABOUT 1,300 electricity grid workers who “literally keep the lights on” in many parts of England are being balloted for strikes over pay, Unite announced today.

The union warned that UK Power Network’s staff, who repair, maintain and administrate the network across London, the south-east and the east, are “angry about a much-reduced pay offer.”

The firm — owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Group — imposed a real-terms wage cut of 7 per cent in 2022-23 and has proposed an average of this month’s CPI and RPI inflation rates for the next financial year, according to Unite.