Britain to rely on record energy imports from Europe this summer
BRITAIN is poised to import a record amount of energy from Europe this summer after mothballing a host of power stations.
The French state-owned operator EDF will sell much of the surplus power from its nuclear plants to the UK in the coming months after taking advantage of new undersea cables and a lack of domestic capacity, according to a report from National Gas.
It said that the demand for gas in the UK was predicted to fall 10pc from 33.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) between
April and September last year to 29bcm this year. Meanwhile, electricity imports are predicted to jump by 6.6 terawatt hours (TWH), potentially reaching a new summer record.
National Gas said: “This increase in electricity imports is being driven by increased availability of French nuclear generation along with interconnectors.”
Interconnectors are high voltage cables that link the electricity systems of neighbouring countries.
Britain now has three interconnectors to France, plus others to Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Denmark. However, the flow is mostly one way, into the UK.
The UK spent £3.5bn on electricity from France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands last year, accounting for 12pc of net supply, according to earlier research from London Stock Exchange Power Research.
This week import levels have risen to 14-15pc of UK electricity – including 8.3pc from France and nearly 4pc from Norway, according to National Grid data.
A key bonus of the shift to overseas power is a cut in greenhouse gas emissions. The National Gas report said: “The continued growth of renewable and electrical interconnector capacity in GB has vastly reduced the need to continually use gas as one of the components of power generation.”
A separate Summer Outlook report from National Grid Electricity Supply Operator confirmed the growing reliance on electricity from overseas.
It said: “Electricity flows through the interconnectors are primarily driven by the price differentials between markets. Typically, during the summer, prices in Great Britain are higher than those in European markets.”
Britain’s capacity to generate electricity has been impacted by the closure of coal-fired power stations, such as West Burton A in Nottinghamshire last March and nuclear stations, such as Hinkley Point B in 2022.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has vowed to build more gas-fired plants in an effort to fill the gap. A second key problem is that the National Grid transmission network is incapable of carrying the power generated by wind farms in Scotland or offshore to England’s power-hungry cities.
Imports have a negative impact on the UK’S balance of payments and mean that Britain is funding companies and jobs in other countries.
In the medium term, further rises in the UK’S reliance on power imports are predicted. In the longer term, the reliance on imports may be reversed if UK ambitions for offshore wind farms are realised.