Networks
Since Friday’s blackout, there have been press reports that National Grid has presided over three “near-miss” situations where system frequency fell close to the lower frequency tolerance of 49.5 Hz, 1% below the target level of 50 Hz. National Grid responded to these reports, [...]
On Friday evening, there was a widespread power blackout across many parts of the UK, with transport systems in particular being affected. Supplies were restored within an hour although the transport problems took far longer to resolve, with the knock-on effects of delayed trains [...]
Last Thursday, the UK’s Labour Party published a plan for re-nationalising Britain’s energy networks, buying them back from private investors at below-market prices. £1 billion was wiped off the value of the National Grid overnight in response to the news. Labour claims the move is [...]
The rapid deployment of renewable generation, and its impact on the electricity system in terms of transmission capacity management, balancing intermittency and frequency control has triggered the need for an entirely new suite of flexibility products. At the same time, the opportunities to earn [...]
The consultation into Ofgem’s minded-to decision in its Targeted Charging Review into residual network charging and embedded benefits closed this week with strong objections being made by renewable and distributed energy bodies who see the proposals as damaging the business models for small embedded [...]
Ofgem is exploring major changes to electricity network charging and access arrangements that will affect all users of the system from large businesses to households, from large transmission-connected to generation to behind-the-meter storage operators. In this second post on network charging and access reform, I [...]
Electricity network charging is facing its most significant reforms since the creation of the current NETA/BETTA system. Ofgem believes that current charging methodology creates distortions in the market and incentivises undesirable behaviours. This is because the entire electricity network structure is undergoing significant change, [...]
Last week Ofgem published its “minded to” decision on electricity network charging reform as part of its Targeted Charging Review (“TCR”) into the way in which residual transmission charges are recovered from consumers, and on certain “embedded benefits”: Charges for using the electricity network [...]
The challenges posed to electricity grids by adding increasing amounts of intermittent renewable generation are well known, and costly to manage, however a Scottish technology company claims to have the answer. Faraday Grid, believes it can massively increase grid capacity to carry renewables at [...]
National Grid recently published a roadmap to widening access to the Balancing Mechanism to smaller, distributed assets and demand-side response. The increasing de-centralisation of the electricity system, along with the growth in intermittent generation, is making the task of balancing the system more challenging [...]