Some UK homes are requested to turn down power demand on Tuesday evening as the nation’s grid struggles for a second day to plug the gap left by a drop in wind generation.
(Bloomberg) — Some UK homes are requested to turn down power demand on Tuesday evening as the nation’s grid struggles for a second day to plug the gap left by a drop in wind generation.
National Grid Plc will seek to cut about 300 megawatts of demand on Tuesday for three half-hour periods between 4:30 and 6 p.m., according to its website. It earlier called off its request to ready three coal-fired units for generation to help ease the power squeeze.
The measure offers a stark reminder that Europe’s power crunch isn’t over and highlights the danger of the UK’s steadily shrinking generation buffer. It also makes the nation more reliant on imports from France, which is struggling with its own nuclear crisis and can’t export as much as it used to.
A cold snap across the south of the nation is boosting demand for heating at the same time as weak wind is curbing power supplies. National Grid is operating the power system with the tightest margins for years and has lined up extra tools like the coal reserve to help boost supplies if needed. Additional costs for keeping the lights on will be added onto consumer bills.
The demand reduction measure is expected to cost about £2.2 million pounds ($2.7 million) on Tuesday, after spending about £1.3 million on Monday to incentivize households to save energy, according to National Grid’s website.
The weather conditions are expected to ease on Wednesday with a recovery in wind generation, Bloomberg’s model shows. Temperatures are expected to warm from Jan. 29 to above normal, according to a forecast by Maxar Technologies LLC.
(Updates with outlook in final paragraph.)
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