Government to launch investigation into power cut across England and Wales
The Government plans to launch an investigation into the major power cut that affected almost one million people in England and Wales.
national grid
Zero-carbon electricity to outstrip fossil fuels for first time, National Grid says
More British electricity is set to come from zero-carbon sources than fossil fuels this year for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, National Grid has said.
UK grid goes coal-free for first full week since Industrial Revolution
Britain's electricity grid has gone a full week without coal for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the system operator has confirmed.
Cairn Energy appoints former National Grid and BAE Systems exec to board
Scottish oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy has appointed a former executive of National Grid and aerospace firm BAE Systems to its board.
New EI chief slams lack of diversity in oil and gas
The incoming president of the Energy Institute (EI) has condemned the “appalling” record of oil and gas on gender and ethnic diversity.
Scottish wind power smashes 100% production threshold
Scottish wind power produced more than 100% of the threshold for the first time, generating enough energy to power 6 million homes.
UK National Grid looks to huge Norwegian gas field for winter demand
The National Grid has said that the start-up of a giant Norwegian gas field will help ensure the UK’s supply in the coming winter.
Offshore wind can add 43GW by 2050, new report claims
Offshore wind capacity can grow by an additional 43 gigawatts (GW) by 2050, a new report said.
Electric Vehicle surge poised to test UK grid for decades
Electric vehicles numbers in the U.K. are likely to jump so much that balancing power supply and demand will become even harder for decades to come.
Changes at National Grid may lead to job losses
National Grid has started consulting with employees on “organisational changes” which may lead to job losses.
National Grid to sell 25% of Cadent Gas owner Guadgas
National Grid has announced it will sell its remaining 25% stake in Quadgas, the holding company for Cadent Gas, with cash proceeds to be around £1.2billlion.
Coal-free record for British power grid
Britain has seen a new record set for coal-free power generation as the country went more than two days without electricity from the fossil fuel.
Cygnus development will ‘outlive’ us and ‘keep us in North Sea for long time’ says Neptune CEO
Jim House, CEO of Neptune Energy, said yesterday that one of the largest single producing gas field in the North Sea will “outlive the careers” of those who work in the sector and keep his firm in the area “for a long time”.
UK wind generation record smashed twice over weekend, say National Grid
Energy analysts at National Grid today confirmed that a new record for UK wind generation was set over the weekend.
Renewable energy link between Scotland and Wales starts work
National Grid has confirmed electricity has started to flow through a cable taking renewable energy from Scotland to England and Wales.
Shetland to go on grid at expense of power station
Shetland will be connected to the National Grid for the first time in five years, but at the expense of island jobs at the power station.
ABB wins £230m deal to integrate UK, France electricity grids
Engineering consultancy ABB has clinched a £230million deal to supply technology that will help connect the French and UK electricity networks.
Lake District set for electricity pylon cull
National Grid has unveiled plans to remove electricity pylons from the Lake District as part of a £2.8 billion power connection project.
Extra coal eases UK winter electricity squeeze
The squeeze on electricity supplies is less severe than expected this winter due to more coal power on the system, a report from National Grid shows. The company’s winter outlook report said the gap between total electricity generating capacity and peak demand could fall to 1.1% at the height of a cold spell, but action to ensure supplies would mean the margin was at 6.6%. The situation is better than predicted in July, when the margin looked set to fall to 0.1% without action, and to 5.5% with measures such as keeping power stations in reserve that would otherwise be closed or mothballed. A final report on the winter outlook said the improved margin was down to Eggborough coal fired power plant, which will run one of its unit in the wholesale electricity market, keeping an extra 430 megawatts (MW) of capacity online. In addition an outage in an “interconnector” - cables which supply electricity between the UK and other countries - to Ireland means less power will be exported to Ireland this winter. As a result, the electricity margin will be “tight but manageable” this winter. The measures National Grid is taking to ensure supplies only involve paying to ensure extra power is available and do not include payments to reduce demand, for example by getting large users to turn down consumption at times. The figures come after environmental campaigners called for a major drive to switch to highly efficient LED lighting in homes, street lights and offices, which they said would reduce peak winter demand and curb fears about blackouts. Research by energy analyst Chris Goodall and backed by Greenpeace suggested that a total switch-over to LED light bulbs in homes could reduce peak demand by 5%, or 2.7GW. Changing street lights over to the new technology would save a further 0.5GW, while offices and other commercial buildings moving to LEDs could save a further 4.5GW, the research suggests. Power margins in winter have tightened in recent years, as coal fired power stations close, and the Government has pledged to phase out all polluting coal plants by 2025, as long as new gas power can be built to fill the gap. Over the last six months, solar power has outperformed coal, but cannot be relied on to help meet demand in the depths of winter. Wind turbines tend to generate more power in winter but can be intermittent.
Servelec wins National Grid contract
The energy division of Servelec Group has been handed a deal to provide a range of services on the National Grid’s gas transmission system.
National Grid boss to start retirement with £11,000 a week pension
Retired National Grid boss Steve Holliday will start retirement with a £11,000 a week pension.
Customer bills to increase, as National Grid overhauls infrastructure
Energy customers will see their bills increase over the next three years, as the National Grid pumps $3billlion in to modernize infrastructure.
National Grid chief hails ‘smart energy revolution’
The new head of the National Grid has said a “smart energy revolution” will help Britain avoid blackouts.
Ofgem plans to cut National Grid budget by £185m
Energy regulator Ofgem has put forward plans to slash National Grid’s budget by £185.4million.
Australia blocks power grid sale to Chinese investors
Australia made a preliminary decision to reject bids for its Ausgrid electricity network from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and State Grid Corp. of China amid growing opposition to selling infrastructure assets to overseas investors.