In an article first published in the January 2018 issue of New Power Report, Janet Wood looked at how locally electricity should be priced. Three years on, and given NGESO’s need to manage rising constraint costs, is it time to…
Longread
Analysis, interviews, thought leadership
NGESO ready to pay for ‘circuit breaker’ assets to reduce mounting constraint costs, BEIS considering options for long term storage
by New Power • • 2 Comments
NGESO wants industry input on how to manage a fast-growing element of electricity costs: constraint paymenst that arise because the network is limited in how much power can be transferred. These ‘constraint’ costs now represent around 40% of so-called ‘use…
Repowering wind and solar: are open-ended grid connections anti-competitive?
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Are landowners who want to get a better deal from hosting renewables stuck in a ‘power export’ trap? Politicians and energy industry commentators are both saying the same thing: the UK needs more wind power. And although offshore projects…
INTERVIEW: Sebastiaan van Dort, head of energy at BSI, says standards can underpin a more flexible and inclusive energy sector
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Sebastiaan van Dort, associate director & head of energy at BSI, says standards are the simple way to get innovation and confidence into the energy industry. And a ‘flex’ approach means standards can developn alongside their use cases A…
NGGT probes gas emergency arrangements’ link with power generation, fearing ‘no robust methodology’. Are gas engine fleets ‘free riding’?
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The changing nature of assets connected to the gas network present “a very real problem that needs a solution” in the event of a gas supply emergency, National Grid Gas Transmission (NGGT) said at a meeting that kicked off examination…
Shifting sands of network options present conundrum for competitors and consumers
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The NGESO’s annual Network Options Assessment (NOA), published in January, set new network investment in train, with a recommendation that 41 new-build options proceed, at a total cost of £13.9B. The recommendation would see £183M invested this year. But the decision also highlighted the potentially…
Keeping a weather eye on the gas market
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Janet Wood explores some of the natural phenomena that influence gas demand and supply Sometimes a glance out of the window will give you some clues as to gas demand. It’s simple enough to assume that on a cold…
INTERVIEW: Stephen Stead, SSE Enterprise, prepares to bid aggregated response into Balancing Market
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SSE Enterprise is getting set to enter the Balancing Market . The Enterprise business sits alongside SSE Group’s networks businesses (distribution, transmission and an independent business that competes on new connections) and its supply arm. New Power’s Janet Wood talked to Stephen Stead,…
Resilience: exploring the Brexit penalty
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Janet Wood explores some of the issues the GB power industry has to consider in its future as a third party connected to the EU’s Internal Energy Market After the Brexit referendum the fear was expressed that electricity imports…
INTERVIEW: Mark Futyan, Anesco
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Mark Futyan started work on transforming Anesco just before the lockdown started. But as he told New Power in this interview first published in August 2020, transforming a relatively small company like Anesco was a very different prospect than making…