Will Britain suffer a power outage? Freezing weather brought UK ‘within a whisker’ of blackout
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NESO told consumers it was safe to continue to use electricity as normal after operations. Millions of Britons came within a ‘whisker’ of being plunged into darkness this week during the coldest nights of the year. Great Britain’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) had asked power plant owners to generate extra electricity on Wednesday evening when temperatures plunged below zero.
The energy grid operator said it needed an extra 1,700 megawatts of power, equivalent of the output of three gas-fired power plants, to generate enough electricity to power homes across England, Scotland and Wales within its normal safety margins. NESO was at pains to point out that it does not signal that blackouts are imminent or that there is not enough generation to meet current demand.
But Kathryn Porter, an independent energy consultant, said: “The GB power market came within a whisker of blackouts. Neso used almost every last megawatt available. “This should be a real wake-up call about the dangers of relying on weather-based generation.”.
With peak electricity demand typically in the evenings during British winters, The Independent looks at how likely a blackout is in the UK. The National Grid says whilst these are unlikely there are a number of variables that could lead to a Rota Load Disconnection (RLD) event, but it is difficult for them to predict exactly when one might happen.
