Chart of the week | BFG: Big Frequency Game

Since last Friday’s (9 August’s) power blackout there has been considerable interest in how National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) balances power demand and supply. Terms such as frequency, rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) and inertia have all gained in currency.

This Chart of the Week shows the distribution of frequency on the British electricity transmission system from 2014 to 2018. It aims to show the spread of frequency distribution away from the standard 50Hz and towards the allowed operational boundaries as the years go on, based on second-by-second data.

To keep reading, please log in to your account

Related thinking

Commercial and market outlook

Is the sun setting on utility solar?

The Federal Government has legislated emissions reductions of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030. Sourcing electricity from renewable technologies is fundamental to meeting this, with a much-publicised target of 82% renewables in the grid by 2030 – up from a current value of 38% over the last year. Fortunately, the...

Commercial and market outlook

How much Raise FCAS is needed as inertia reduces?

The Step Change scenario in the 2022 Integrated System Plan (ISP) is targeting 83% renewable energy generation in the NEM by 2030-31. By then, around 79GW of VRE resources (wind, utility solar, and distributed PV) is expected to have been installed to help replace the 14GW capacity of synchronous generation...

Commercial and market outlook

ESB’s prototype; what can it tell us about the Transmission Access Reform?

In May 2023, the Energy Security Board (ESB) published a consultation paper addressing transmission congestion. The paper proposed a voluntary congestion relief market (CRM) and a priority access mechanism. The priority access mechanism tends to incentivise generators to sit in non-congested areas to avoid further congestion. The CRM model also...

Commercial and market outlook

Feast or famine? FCAS costs in South Australia

Frequency Control Ancillary Service (FCAS) prices are highly volatile, at times resulting in short periods of extremely high FCAS cost. Three such events in recent history are the South Australian (SA) islanding events in November 2019, February 2020, and November 2022. During these events, FCAS costs in SA totalled $16...

Energy storage and flexibility

Out with the old, in with the new: T-4 Capacity Market clears at record price

On 21 February, the T-4 Capacity Market auction for Delivery Year 2026-27 cleared at a record high price of £63.00/kW/year, procuring 43,000.955MW of capacity. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we explore the key takeaways from the auction.

Commercial and market outlook

Australia’s hydrogen success is tied to energy market policies

According to South Australia’s Hydrogen Power Plant study, the global demand for hydrogen is projected to reach 650 megatons in 2050, with a potential export market of $300b per year. In this market, Australia is well placed for renewable hydrogen production with a considerable penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE)....

Power and gas networks

Sharing is Caring: UK Gas and Power Exports Volumes Versus 2021

It is perhaps unsurprising to highlight that global energy markets have been exposed to significant volatility in recent years. Whether this be through the emergence of a global pandemic, dampening demand and drastically altering consumption behaviour thereafter, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine which resulted in significant changes to historic...

Energy storage and flexibility

Christmas comes early for South Australian battery owners

The choice of Chart of the week was an easy one following Saturday’s storms that ‘reined’ down on South Australia. The state became isolated from the rest of the National Electricity Market after one of ElectraNet’s pylons, supporting the interconnector between SA and Victoria, was knocked down[1].   The consequence...