Energy supply fears after capacity notice
CONCERNS were raised over Britain’s energy supply last night and tonight, as the grid operator issued two separate indications that things could get tight.
The National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) issued and then rapidly cancelled a notice that the difference between the amount of electricity available and the supply of electricity would be smaller than hoped for last night.
It comes as the grid will struggle to rely on nuclear power coming from France, where supply was also due to be tighter than usual on the two evenings.
The so-called Capacity Market Notice was issued at 1.33pm, with a warning of a tight grid at 6pm. The notice was cancelled again at 2.04pm. The alerts are sent out automatically when expected margins drop below a certain level. They do not mean that blackouts are likely.
All 12 capacity market notices that the grid has put out have been cancelled without issue in the last six years. The notices have become more common this year as Europe goes through an energy crisis. National Grid said earlier yesterday that it was considering whether to pay households across Britain to reduce their energy use to help out this evening.
The ESO said it was contemplating whether to activate the firstever live run of its Demand Flexibility Service – which is designed to avoid blackouts. It works by asking households to reduce the amount of electricity they use at certain times – and promises to pay them for any reductions they make. The scheme was launched earlier this month and has already been tested twice but has not yet run live. It comes as forecasts projected a large drop in the amount of power that Britain will be able to import from France.
It will mean that the difference between the amount of electricity available for households and businesses and the amount they will use during peak times will be tight.
“Even though wind is coming back for tomorrow evening’s peak, slow return of nukes in France plus lower temperatures may mean that there is a reduction in available imports across the interconnecTanya tors,” according to consultancy service EnergyAppSys.
Millions of people around the country will be settling in to watch England play Wales at 7pm today in the teams’ final game in the group stages of football’s World Cup. Forecasters had also warned margins would be tight in both Britain and France yesterday evening, meaning both countries will need to import power from abroad.
France has been facing months of problems with its nuclear power plants, which generate around three quarters of the country’s electricity. More than half of the nuclear reactors run by state energy company EDF have closed due to maintenance problems and technical issues. It has added to a massive energy crisis in Europe as the country faces a winter without its gas supplies from Russia.
Octopus Energy, the most active UK energy supplier in the Demand Flexibility Service, said its customers had helped to cut demand by more than 100 megawatts during both tests – the same amount of electricity from a small power plant – with some earning up to £4.