Can brewing a simple cup of tea send ripples through the U.K.¡¯s power grid?

It might this summer.

As football fans pull on their jerseys for the World Cup, the U.K.¡¯s grid operator is bracing for a sharp spike in electricity demand when England and Croatia face off in their opening match on June 17. One of the biggest surges is expected at half-time, as hundreds of thousands of viewers leave their couches and switch on their kettles all at once.