National Grid seeks reserve capacity to cut winter blackout risk

National Grid is looking for large energy users and mothballed generators to help minimise the risk of blackouts from next winter.

On Wednesday, the system operator launched two surveys to gauge interest in providing demand response or backup generation at peak times.

The call for extra services has been prompted by a projected tightening in the level of spare power generation capacity over the next two years, as old stations retire faster than new generation is deployed. According to Ofgem’s latest assessment, the capacity margin could fall to between 2 and 5 per cent in 2015/16.

National Grid is seeking to secure reserve capacity that can be called at periods of peak demand, on winter weekdays. On the demand side, that means large energy users willing to cut demand or switch to back-up generators between 16:00 and 20:00. On the generation side, it means keeping open plant that would otherwise be closed or mothballed, to be available between 06:00 and 20:00.

National Grid stressed the measures were a “last resort” to be used in the “extreme and unlikely” event of generation in the market falling short.

Peter Bingham, from National Grid’s Electricity Market Reform project, said: “At this stage we are keen to see what levels of interest there are in the market for providing these services. The kind of volumes that may be required will become clearer once we’ve been able to look at this winter’s demand more closely and considered the latest outlook for generation. If we identify a requirement for these services for next winter, we will look to tender for these services in the spring and the surveys will help inform that process.”