Business Maverick: UK grid set to pay record sum to keep the country’s lights on

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 62 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 28%
  • Publisher: 84%

United States News News

United States United States Latest News,United States United States Headlines

The UK electricity grid faces record costs for power stations cranking up output in emergencies this year, as it grapples with balancing supply and demand in the face of Europe’s energy crisis.

National Grid Plc paid £3.2 billion between January and October in so-called balancing costs, according tofrom the company’s Electricity System Operator compiled by the Nuclear Industry Association. Ultimately that cost will be reimbursed by consumers, and is an increase of more than 20% over last year’s total bill, with two months of figures yet to be released.

The grid has to balance supply and demand when markets are tight, usually in the colder months. It means having to secure supplies quickly when necessary – sometimes at sky-high costs, which has seen operators making big profits. One gas-fired power station operated by VPI Holding, a unit of Vitol Group, earned more than £11-million in justA spokesman for National Grid ESO declined to comment.

Britain is caught up in a crisis sparked by Russia’s squeeze on gas supplies to Europe, which has pushed up the price of power too. That’s meant the grid has had to pay more for increased generation from power plants, as well as extending the life of coal stations that were set to be switched off. The higher bill also reflects grid constraints. When wind farms in Scotland are producing more power than the system can handle, the grid operator has to pay them to stand down.

Investing in nuclear stations could be one way to provide a stable power output and avoid expensive balancing costs, according to the NIA. Energy regulator Ofgem, meanwhile, is also attempting to address the issue, proposing a new licence condition that would prevent stations from making excess profits when the grid is tight.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in US

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Business Maverick: Trump’s tax records to be released by Democrats after House panel voteA House committee voted to release Donald Trump’s tax information to the public, capping a three-year legal saga initiated by Democrats to obtain and release the former president’s closely held financial documents.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business Maverick: China’s budget deficit hits record $1.1-trillion on Covid-Zero slumpChina’s broad budget deficit hit a record so far this year, showing how damaging the now abandoned Covid-Zero policy and the ongoing housing slump have been to the economy and to the government’s finances.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

Business rescue practitioners in bid to regain control of R3.4bn of Gupta mine's assets | BusinessThe business rescue practitioners of Optimum Coal Mine have launched a daring bid to wrestle control of R3.4 billion worth of the mine's preserved assets from a curator appointed by the courts. | vercingetorics
Source: News24 - 🏆 4. / 80 Read more »

Five business ideas that are bound to clickFive business ideas to consider when starting a business.
Source: TheSAnews - 🏆 25. / 59 Read more »

Business Maverick: Good investing! After the Bell year-end noteThe newsletter is an unusual journalistic form, and its speed and regularity can be both a blessing and a curse. The speed often results in a somewhat uncrafted newsletter. It follows something of the pattern of my wife’s riff on EM Forster’s query, “how do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” At last I bravely gave a try after a Friend recommended Mathilda, month ago i invested a min R6k been a jobless hustler, but i literally can't tell of how happy i am right after a profit return of R21k not much of it but surely it worth it, hit her up for startup Mathildanewtoon
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »