Energy prices to PLUMMET with 100mph weather bomb slashing electricity cost by 50% as tornado gusts see wind power surge
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AN IMMINENT "weather bomb" is expected to slash the cost of electricity by 50 percent as tornado gusts send wind turbines into overdrive. Energy prices have been sky-high recently after wind farms produced the lowest levels of electricity since September 2023, so the dip will be welcomed by cash-strapped Brits.
Cloudy and still weather dragged electricity production down to almost zero on Wednesday. Combined with greater demand from people to see them through the cold, dark months, this meant the price of electricity climbed to almost £250 per megawatt-hour - seven times the pre-pandemic price.
But gusts of up to 100mph whipped up by Storm Eowynon on Thursday and Friday will fire the industry back up. Wind-powered energy output is expected to surge 40-fold within 48 hours - meaning prices will be slashed by more than half. The fluctuation in renewable energy output has reignited calls for the UK to invest in "long-duration energy storage", where electricity can be set aside in times of high production.
It could then be drawn up into the national grid during electricity droughts. Akshay Kaul, a director at energy regulator Ofgem, said: “We’ve seen this winter that when you have a period of still, cold, cloudy weather [that] batteries on their own, and [power] interconnectors on their own, are not sufficient.”.