"On December 13, 1973, Prime Minister Edward Heath announced the Three-Day Work Order, leading to the infamous three-day working week, from midnight on December 31 that year," "Heath's austerity measure was aimed at limiting commercial use of electricity to three consecutive days a week, to slash electricity consumption and conserve coal stocks, rather than impose a total shut down. "But emergency electricity restrictions resulted in power cuts, forcing the most modern businesses to work by lamp and candle light. "Reduced working hours led to severe hardship for many people whose wages were greatly reduced and Britain's troubled economy faltered further as production fell.