National Grid claims Britain at lower risk of losing power in the winter than last year
Britain will be at a lower risk of losing power this winter than it was last time, according to a report from the company that runs the grid.
National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) said on Thursday that power plants, wind farms and other generation methods are expected to be able to provide more than enough power to meet demand.
In an early outlook ahead of winter it said that the grid would have an average margin – the difference between supply of electricity and demand for it – of 4.8 gigawatts (GW) this coming winter.
That gives the system a margin of 8% – higher than last winter – reducing the period when demand might outstrip supply to just 0.1 hours, down from 0.2 hours a year earlier.
“That’s really healthy. But even within that there will be tight days. There will be cold snaps in the winter and therefore we do expect to use our normal operational tools,” said ESO corporate affairs director Jacob Rigg.
He said that ESO is still in negotiations with energy company Drax to ensure that its coal power plant is on standby in case it is needed next winter.
ESO is also planning to bring back the so-called demand flexibility service – a system which pays customers to reduce their electricity use during tighter times.
Press Association – August Graha