Britain’s grid operator cancels call for additional power during evening peak

Britain’s electricity grid operator cancelled an industry request for companies to generate more power after additional electricity was made available ahead of Monday evening’s peak period.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued an electricity margin notice early on Monday as a contingency measure. It had forecast a potentially tight period for electricity margins between 4pm and 7pm.

Neso stressed that the notice was not a warning of power cuts and did not mean that electricity supplies were at risk. Customers were not required to take action.

Earlier on Monday, the predicted margin shortfall had fallen to around 104 megawatts, from an initially highlighted shortfall of 1,400 megawatts, after power generation firms made more electricity available. At that point, the margin notice remained in place for the evening peak.

Shortly after 4pm, Neso confirmed that it had cancelled the notice. The organisation said actions taken by Neso and market participants had restored the operating margin required for the evening peak period.

“We have cancelled the electricity margin notice (EMN), as actions taken by Neso and market participants have successfully restored the operating margin required for this evening’s peak period,” a Neso spokesman said.

“The system is operating as normal and Great Britain’s electricity supplies remain secure.”