Energy supplier SSE will re-open a mothballed gas plant in England to ensure the lights stay on in the UK this winter.
SSE said the 735MW gas-fired power station at Keadby in North Lincolnshire will re-open from Monday 9th November. This follows announcements earlier this year of its intent for the plant to return to service.
SSE said the station’s return to service will provide an “important contribution to maintaining security of supply this winter”.
SSE has spent five months bringing the plant back into operation following its “deep mothballing” in March 2013 due to adverse market conditions.
Paul Smith, SSE Managing Director Generation, said: “Today’s news means Government and the National Grid have more capacity with which to power people’s homes this winter. The station has undergone extensive upgrades meaning it can operate with improved flexibility in the market.
“SSE maintains a flexible and diverse fleet of generation assets which we see as the best way of playing our part when it comes to keeping the lights on.”
In order to bring Keadby back into service, SSE has successfully applied to National Grid for Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC). The station will begin its return to service from 9th November, with full commercial availability expected by mid-December.
SSE currently operates two other wholly-owned gas-fired power stations at Medway in Kent and Peterhead, which has capacity to produce 1,180MW of energy. The Aberdeenshire plant is the last project standing in a £1billion government competition to build the first gas carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the UK.
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