NESO call for more generation: comment

“Every year the grid operator issues several of these notices and like today, they are often cancelled, as they are a regular feature of a well-managed grid, balancing supply with demand. An overall lack of generation in the UK hasn’t caused disruption to power supplies for decades and the grid recently operated at 98.8% clean power, a new record that shows the system continues to be reliable.

“Though notices are normally issued in winter, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and hotter due to climate change and impact not just people’s health, especially vulnerable people like the elderly and children, but our energy and transport systems. The science is very clear that if we don’t reach net zero emissions, we don’t stop climate change and these impacts get worse and worse. Just yesterday the National Energy System Operator warned that wildfires can impact its transmission infrastructure too.

“In extreme heat, the whole system becomes less efficient, including it becoming more difficult to cool nuclear and gas plants, with France already shutting down some of its nuclear plants [2], and wind speeds can be lower because of heat dome effects. Higher demand from air con and fans in the UK and Europe is a major factor too.

“We’ve seen a lot of predictions of the grid collapsing over many years, for example around the closure of coal power stations, but these have turned out to be scaremongering as the grid has continued to be resilient.”