National Grid

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Waiting to connect: the problems and solutions for network connection queues (Part 2)

    Network connection queues continue to be a notable topic of interest as many generators face significant delays to project development – an issue that is directly conflicting with net zero ambitions and recent focuses on strengthening domestic energy supplies. In Part 1 of our two-part series on connection queues we...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Waiting to connect: the problems and solutions for network connection queues

    The number of grid applications has risen significantly in recent years, resulting in increased pressure on the electricity networks to facilitate new connections. In its Energy Security Strategy, the UK government set out ambitions for 95% of electricity to be sourced from low carbon generation by 2030, and for the...

  • Power and gas networks

    Gas DSR reforms ahead of winter 2022-23

    National Grid has recently carried out a review of the Gas Demand Side Response (DSR) voluntary curtailment mechanism through July and August. The Gas DSR allows shippers to offer a consumption curtailment service to National Grid Gas (NGG) during periods of acute gas supply constraint called a Gas Deficit Emergency...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Dialing up the unknowns on network charging

    In a world of open governance code modifications, change is a constant. You only have to look at the number of code modifications ongoing at any one time – National Grid lists 36 modifications in development relating to transmission network charging alone – for evidence of that. But in recent...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Capacity, reform, and unlawful strategies: 5 things that happened yesterday

    Capacity, reform, and unlawful strategies: yesterday was a busy day for energy geekery. The developments encapsulate the shorter and longer term challenges and uncertainties present in the energy market presently: Read the full article here

  • Business supply and services

    Re-balancing the balancing costs –BSUoS charges to be levied solely on suppliers from April 2023

    Balancing the electricity system costs money. National Grid in its role as Electricity System Operator (ESO) takes actions in every half hour to achieve the remarkable feat of keeping supply and demand finely balanced on our national electricity system – maintaining a system which runs between 49.8 and 50.2Hz with...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Dynamic Regulation launches

    National Grid ESO (NGESO) launched the Dynamic Regulation (DR) service on 8 April, with the first auction held at 14:30 on the EPEX auction platform. DR is the second new product that the ESO has introduced to manage frequency on the system, as the system operator introduces a suite of...

  • Business supply and services

    Wholesale energy prices see new record highs as 2021 comes to a close

    In what continues to be a particularly tumultuous period for the wholesale energy market in the lead up to Christmas, prices have continued their crusade of setting record highs in a final send-off to 2021. On Wednesday 22 December, day-ahead gas prices reached a new all-time record high (on our...

  • Low carbon generation

    Our Renewables Pipeline Tracker: In with the new – scoping projects and progression through planning stages

    Our latest Renewables Pipeline Tracker was published on 11 June, and this blog provides a summary of some of the recent developments in our coverage of the pipeline for new build and repowering renewables assets in GB. What’s new? Seabed leasing rounds, scoping projects and CfD announcements Since our previous...

  • Low carbon generation

    Podcast key takeaways | James Brabben discusses the role of gas in the UK power market

    James Brabben, our Wholesale Manager, spoke to William Powell, Editor in Chief, in the inaugural podcast for Natural Gas World. The podcast discusses the latest issues of the day in the gas market and includes a deep dive into the GB gas market by James. In this blog, we take...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    FiT costs to reach all-time high amid COVID outbreak

    Energy Third Party Charges (TPCs) have certainly been in the limelight recently, and rightly so as less consumption from non-domestic sectors is resulting in a greater recovery of money from domestic households amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Several measures have been taken to date to protect domestic suppliers and consumers from...

  • Low carbon generation

    The Balancing Mechanism and BSUoS under lockdown

    The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions have severely impacted the GB energy market with demand and prices at record lows. As market conditions have drastically changed, National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG ESO) has been much in the spotlight, with the current low demand scenario providing new operational challenges....

  • Low carbon generation

    Power demand in Lockdown – Initial COVID-19 impact on the power market

    The power and gas systems are mirror images of the wider economy, entering practically every aspect of work and leisure. They naturally face challenges as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 virus on the way we work, travel and live. Electricity demand has reported to have fallen in...

  • Regulation and policy

    Winding down: NGESO proposes virtual inertia specifications

    By this time next year, intermittent generation may be able to provide virtual synchronous services to the industry under a new Grid Code modification proposal. Raised by National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO), GC0137 Minimum Specification Required for Provision of Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM) Capability seeks to create requirements for...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Inertial dampeners – power system frequency management

    A challenge for a system with 70% renewable electricity, as posited in the Climate Action Plan (CAP), will be managing frequency. Recent experience of our neighbouring market, Great Britain (GB), suggests this challenge may have to be faced in the near term. GB experienced two frequency events during 11 July,...

  • Low carbon generation

    Constrained development: Scottish wind and the issues of network charging

    Northern Scotland is home to a significant proportion of GB renewables, particularly onshore wind capacity. The region is also likely to be a leader in new capacity developments and we are working directly with a number of developers looking to finalise new subsidy-free projects here. Under subsidy schemes, there is...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Five things we learnt from Energy Spectrum | 674

    We present five key themes and findings from this week’s edition of Energy Spectrum Issue 674 Our Energy Perspective considers the similar themes between the Committee on Climate Change's (CCC) latest annual progress report to Parliament on reducing emissions and National Grid's Future Energy Scenarios analysis for 2019. We find...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Five things we learnt from Energy Spectrum | 673

    In the week that National Grid is set to launch its 2019 Future Energy Scenarios (FES), this week’s Energy Perspective looks more closely at how new approaches could make it more attractive for small generators to connect to the transmission system. While we await with interest to see how FES treats these issues, the...

  • Regulation and policy

    Labour’s proposals challenge more than just network companies

    The Labour Party attracted a lot of attention last week with its renationalisation plans for GB’s energy networks. Titled Bringing Energy Home, the policy document focuses the nationalisation debate squarely on National Grid and the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), while also bringing focus on local energy and decarbonisation at all levels....

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Imbalance prices turn negative for six straight hours

    Imbalance prices turned negative for 13 consecutive settlement periods on Sunday, as low electricity demand and high levels of wind output led the System Operator to reduce generation output from a variety of wind, combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and biomass power stations. The imbalance price dropped below zero in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Five things we learnt from Energy Spectrum | 655

    A programme as complex as the smart meter roll-out was always going to be subject to significant challenges. Last week BEIS Committee Chair Rachel Reeves commented that the roll-out would not meet its 2020 notional deadline, echoing growing sentiment in the industry but, in this week’s Energy Perspective we suggest that...

  • Low carbon generation

    Cornwall Insight: evaluating drivers of low-carbon investment in a subsidy free world event

    On 17 October 2018 Cornwall Insight hosted a successful and well attended event where the future of support for renewable power generation, against the backdrop of the significant gap between current deployment levels and what must be delivered to meet decarbonisation goals, was discussed. Cornwall Insight experts discussed how although...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Electric vehicle smart charging – easier said than done?

    National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios 2018 provides the most detailed view yet from the annually updated publication of the predicted impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on the electricity system. It confirms that provided EV “smart charging” becomes prevalent, the increase in peak demand arising from the anticipated rise in EVs can be...

  • Low carbon generation

    Q118 FiT costs confirmed at £290mn

    Suppliers were invoiced for Q118 (January – March) Feed-in Tariff levelisation on 25 April, confirming total scheme costs for the quarter at just under £290mn. This consisted of £281.7mn in generation payments, £7.7mn in deemed export payments and £0.3mn in qualifying costs that help cover the supplier cost to administer...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    This week’s Energy Spectrum overview | 30 April 2018

    In this week’s Energy Perspective, we explore how for storage the preference to move to the behind-the-meter proposition is increasing as the initial interest in grid-scale assets wavers. We argue that there are many good reasons for this trend, including the fact that it allows organisations to maximise revenues by...

  • Power and gas networks

    With or without you – the Ireland and GB gas systems

    On 1 March 2018 National Grid issued a Gas Deficit Warning (GDW) for the GB market due to the predicted supply and demand imbalance. Ireland can hardly be a passive observer when it comes to the GB gas market given the interconnection and market flows. The Island of Ireland and...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    A pragmatic review of battery business cases

    As we await the full results of the latest T-4 Capacity Market, which has delivered the lowest clearing price to date for this type of auction, we have been reflecting on the possible business cases for large-scale battery storage. I was speaking on this very topic at the Energy Storage...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    What the T-1 auction does and doesn’t tell us about the upcoming T-4 auction

    The T-1 Capacity Market (CM) auction cleared on Thursday 1 February 2018 in round 14 at £6/kW. 5.78GW of capacity won an agreement for delivery year 2018-19 at an estimated cost for the consumer of £34mn. This is the second one-year ahead auction that has cleared lower than expectations; what does this...