National Grid secures 2.4GW of back up capacity

National Grid has signed contracts for at least 2.4GW of de-rated back up capacity for the winter of 2016-17, Utility Week has learned.

The contracts are for the Supplemental Balancing Reserve, a short-term measure designed to ensure security of supply ahead of the capacity market coming onstream in 2018, by paying mostly mothballed plants to make spare capacity available during winter peaks.

In December National Grid announced it had offered contracts to six companies for almost 3.6GW of de-rated capacity for the coming winter.

Centrica, Eon and ESB have all now signed the contracts they were offered, Utility Week can reveal. Engie has so far signed one of its two contracts.

Two contracts for a total of 671MW of de-rated capacity were granted to Centrica for its South Humber combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant. Eon was offered a contract for 523MW of de-rated capacity for its Killingholme CCGT plant and ESB received a 308MW contract for its CCGT plant in Corby. Engie was granted two contracts to make 242MW of de-rated capacity available from its Deeside CCGT and Rugeley GT plants. The former has been signed but not the latter. 

Earlier this month Czech energy firm EPH announced that the closure of its Eggborough coal-fired plant had been postponed until next year after it signed a contract for the plant to provide 681MW of de-rated capacity.

It brings the total amount of de-rated capacity for which contracts are known to have been signed to more than 2.4GW.

SSE has refused to say whether the five contracts it was offered for more than 1.1GW of de-rated capacity have yet been signed. They include a contract for one of the four units at its Fiddler’s Ferry coal-fired plant. The supplier recently announced plans to close the other three units this spring.

National Grid declined to comment until all parties have publicly announced the signing of any contracts.