Britain's risk of power outages this winter lowest since pre-Covid, Neso says
The National Electricity System Operator (Neso) said there is set to be enough electricity to meet demand over the colder winter months.
In its early winter outlook, Neso anticipates an average operational margin – the difference between supply of electricity and demand for it – of 6.6 gigawatts (GW) from the end of October to the end of March.
This is the highest expected margin since the 2019-2020 winter and is greater than the 5.2 GW forecast last year.
The publicly-owned operator is tasked with ensuring that the supply of and demand for electricity always remains balanced.
If supply cannot meet demand then the country risks blackouts.
An increase in the margin has been driven by several factors, Neso said, including growth in electricity supply from battery storage at both a national and regional level – which enables power from renewables to be stored and then released when it is needed.
It also pointed to an increase in the availability of electricity generation from gas, and from a new power cable, known as the Greenlink interconnector, connecting electricity grids between Wales and Ireland.
This increased supply is expected to more than offset an expected rise in demand during peak periods.
The slight uptick marks a divergence from previous years, when demand has either stayed the same or fallen, but Neso said it is too early to say what might drive that increase.
Neso said it expects there to be around six minutes over the winter period where it might have to resort to special measures to keep the grid running smoothly.
In most cases where demand exceeds supply for a period of time, it is managed by the grid operator without any impact on consumers.
Neso stressed it was remaining 'vigilant' in its preparation for the winter amid changes in global energy markets.
'Our early view of the winter ahead shows a positive outlook with sufficient margins throughout the colder winter months,' Deborah Petterson, Neso's director of resilience and emergency management said.
'We will continue to monitor developments in global energy markets, remaining vigilant in our preparations to ensure that the resilience and reliability of the electricity network is maintained.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Retrospective plan for take away at popular shopping plaza refused
A RETROSPECTIVE application to keep a take away kiosk at a busy shopping plaza in Bradford has been refused. The kiosk was built at the entrance to Bradford Plaza in Thornbury in January 2024 – despite there being no permission in place for a take away business. Now a retrospective application for the business, known as Deli Plaza, has been refused by Bradford Council, with planners saying it could cause anti-social behaviour and add to childhood obesity. Bradford Plaza has become one of the city's busiest shopping areas in recent years, and is made up of multiple small shops and food businesses. The take away kiosk is located at the Rushton Avenue entrance to the site – opposite the entrance to Morrisons. The retrospective application for the business had been submitted by Z+F Properties, and said it employed two people. There was one objector to the plans, who said: 'Unauthorised shops in Bradford Plaza are causing issues for local residents.' Now the application has been refused by planners, who pointed out that the business falls foul of policies that prevents new take aways from opening within 400 metres of a school, park or youth facility. Planning officers said: 'The application site is close to secondary schools or youth centred facilities (Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College) and recreational grounds or park boundaries (Thornbury Roundabout). 'It is also close to a day nursery and creche (Spinning Top Day Nursery and Out of School Club) with the premises and facilities within 400 metres of the site. 'The proposed hot food takeaway use is therefore considered to be contrary to the Council's adopted Hot Food Takeaway Supplementary Planning Document, which seeks to support the healthy eating agenda and aims to minimise the negative impacts of takeaways on childhood health by controlling the proximity of new takeaways to primary and secondary schools and youth centred facilities.' Planners also pointed out that the proposed opening hours of the business would be until midnight. They added: 'These are late operating hours which exceeds the opening hours of Bradford Plaza which is advertised (on Google) to open 11:30am-7pm Monday- Sundays and closed on Fridays. 'These late-night operating hours are deemed to be anti-social and could result in anti- social behaviour and statutory nuisance to nearby residential properties to the detriment of their amenity with the nature of such a use and associated activities and late night comings and goings of customers likely to result in noise and disturbance issues which will detrimentally harm the amenity of adjacent residential properties/occupants.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bradford now one of FOUR hubs as Yorkshire and Vertu boost community cricket
A major boost for grassroots cricket has been delivered this week as automotive giant Vertu strengthened its ties with Yorkshire County Cricket Club to help expand the successful Cric-Kit initiative, which has already seen great success in Bradford. The programme, run by the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2022, offering a lifeline to budding cricketers by redistributing donated equipment to communities across the region. Now, thanks to Vertu's continued backing, a fourth Cric-Kit hub has officially opened in York. The scheme, which started with a year-long pilot, already operates out of Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield. Cricket fans and former players have been encouraged to donate unwanted gear, including bats, pads, helmets and more, which the Foundation then refurbishes and reallocates to those facing financial or social barriers to playing. Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu, said the expansion underlines the company's commitment to supporting community sport across the county. Vertu have strong tie-ins with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, while they are the current sponsors of the EFL Trophy too. (Image: Recognition PR) 'We are delighted to work with the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation to expand the hugely successful Cric-Kit initiative,' he said. 'Having already helped break down some of the barriers that prevented people from participating in the sport, we look forward to widening the reach of the programme to allow more people to get involved with the creation of the fourth hub. 'This is a central part of the work that the Foundation does in the community, and we share their passion to help boost the number of people who are able to play the game.' The new York hub will not only increase the initiative's geographical footprint but is also expected to serve hundreds more aspiring cricketers from underrepresented backgrounds. Sohail Raz, Diverse Communities Manager at the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, welcomed the development. 'We're incredibly proud to see the Cric-Kit initiative extend its reach to a new hub in York, breaking down further barriers and making cricket accessible to all,' he said. 'This expansion would not be possible without the continued commitment of Vertu whose support is helping the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation create a lasting impact across communities. 'Together we're ensuring that no cricketer is held back from playing the game they love because of the cost or lack of access to cricket equipment.' With cricket participation continuing to grow across Yorkshire, the Cric-Kit scheme is seen as a crucial part of the county's efforts to make the game more inclusive, and ensure everyone, regardless of background, has the chance to take part.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
European wildfire smoke dampens UK heatwave with unusually hazy conditions
Smoke from wildfires in Southern Europe has brought hazy conditions to the UK, disrupting the current heatwave, forecasters have said. The UK experienced the fourth heatwave of the summer this week, with some areas seeing the mercury climb above 33C in the hottest places. However, the Met Office said "smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal, plus Saharan dust, has drifted over the UK'. This means the UK should expect "enhanced sunsets and sunrises in the coming days - deeper reds and oranges thanks to light scattering,' the forecaster added. Scientists say the phenomenon is linked to two processes known as Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering. Rayleigh scattering, caused by tiny air molecules, normally makes the sky appear blue by scattering shorter wavelengths of light, such as violet and blue, according to the Royal Meteorological Society. But larger particles released by wildfires, such as soot and ash, trigger Mie scattering, which scatters all wavelengths more evenly and allows longer red and orange wavelengths to dominate. Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told Sky News the haze "will hang around for the next few days". The Met Office's forecast for Sunday says low clouds retreating towards the North Sea means there will be 'plenty of sunshine for most'. There will be strong winds in the South West of England, and it will remain warm along the eastern coast. Spain battled 14 major fires driven by high winds and aggravated by heat on Friday as authorities warned of "unfavourable conditions" to tackle flames that have already killed seven people and burned an area the size of London. Firefighters have been battling to put out blazes across southern Europe in one of the worst summers for wildfires in 20 years. An early two-week heatwave and southerly winds were worsening the situation in Spain, Virginia Barcones, director general of emergency services, said. Wildfires have burned more than 157,000 hectares in Spain so far this year, almost double the annual average, according to the European Union's Forest Fire Information Service. In neighbouring Portugal, meanwhile, thousands of firefighters were battling five large blazes in central and northern parts of the country, with one fire in Trancoso, some 350 km northeast of Lisbon, now raging for six days. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of 'heat stress' days.
