British households asked to reduce power for second day as wind fades
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Britain's power grid operator asked three reserve coal units to be ready to supply power and consumers to curb demand through Tuesday, as it tries for a second consecutive day to plug the gap left by a dearth of wind generation.
The measures demonstrate how vulnerable Britain remains to colder weather and fluctuations in wind output as it struggles to alleviate its energy crunch. Monday marked the first time British households were asked to help balance the network after freezing temperatures caused demand to spike.
National Grid's Electricity System Operator asked two units of Drax Group's coal station and one from EDF's plant to warm up. After spending about £1.3m to incentivise households to save energy, the operator will seek to cut another 341 megawatts of demand on Tuesday during peak hours.
So far, National Grid has been testing its service to set incentives at the right level to entice consumers to take part.
Last week Centrica, the UK’s biggest energy supplier which also owns Bord Gáis here, said it would double payments to British households willing to save power during peak demand times this winter. Households that have volunteered to take part in the plan through their energy supplier could receive a £12 discount for not using the oven between 5pm and 6pm.
“Tightness is predicted to remain for the beginning of this week,” said Rajiv Gogna, Partner at LCP Delta, adding that the situation should ease later this week, thanks to higher temperatures and wind output.
The grid operator had asked three coal units to warm in preparation for Monday evening’s peak, but stood down the request when it became clear there was enough generation to meet demand.
The operator set aside as much as £395m to pay coal units earmarked for closure to stay active this winter as reserve capacity.