The UK grid is asking some households to cut energy use on Monday — a request which is likely to be extended Tuesday — as a plunge in wind power and freezing temperatures across the country test its ability to keep the lights on.
(Bloomberg) — The UK grid is asking some households to cut energy use on Monday — a request which is likely to be extended Tuesday — as a plunge in wind power and freezing temperatures across the country test its ability to keep the lights on.
National Grid Plc will use the emergency tool for the first time to help ease a supply squeeze. Starting 5 p.m., customers of Centrica Plc, EON SE and Octopus Energy Ltd. who have signed up for the program will be asked not to use dishwashers or washing machines during a two-hour period of peak demand.
The measure offers a stark reminder that Europe’s power crunch is far from 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.
“The fact that we are asking for demand response shows that we need to remain vigilant and we need to remain cautious about what may happen in the future,” said Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of regulator Ofgem, in a speech in London on Monday. “We are vigilant — the system is getting more robust, but some of the risks still remain.”
The demand-reduction tool was previously in test mode but is now live. National Grid will announce at 2:30 p.m. UK time on whether it will be needed for a second day on Tuesday. The aim of the program — which is due to run until the end of March — is to cut demand as a way of balancing the grid without needing new power plant capacity.
A cold snap in recent days has caused demand to spike, with prices for peak times at the highest since Dec. 21. London will see temperatures as cold as minus 2C (28F) on Monday, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc.
Earlier, the network operator instructed three reserve coal-fired power plants to get ready to generate on Monday evening, but subsequently stood them down.
The UK government is coming under pressure to roll out energy-efficiency measures such as insulation to help households save money and energy. Britain’s particularly leaky housing stock means that when energy prices rise, customers feel the pinch more quickly from rising bills.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt pledged £6 billion ($7.4 billion) to insulate homes and upgrade boilers in his budget last year. However, ministers have tried several energy-efficiency programs over the past decade that haven’t achieved mass rollout.
–With assistance from Josefine Fokuhl and Todd Gillespie.
(Updates with Ofgem comment in fourth paragraph.)
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