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National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has withdrawn an Electricity Margin Notice issued yesterday afternoon for between 4pm and 7pm today (6 January).
It marks the fourth time that the ESO has issued and then cancelled an Electricity Margin Notice so far this winter.
The ESO stated on Monday that it was forecasting tight margins on the power grid between Wednesday and Friday of this week due to a combination of low renewable generation, below average temperatures and the unavailability of some generators during periods of high demand.
It subsequently issued an Electricity Margin Notice at 3.49pm yesterday alerting market participants that it was anticipating a 584MW shortfall against its target margin for today’s evening peak in demand between 4pm and 7pm.
As in previous instances, National Grid gave assurances that the notice represents a “routine signal” that it would like a “larger cushion of spare capacity” and does not mean Great Britain is at risk of experiencing blackouts.
The persistence of a shortfall would have meant the ESO had to draw upon its reserves to maintain the balance between supply and demand.
The Electricity Margin Notice was withdrawn at 11.25 this morning, with the ESO explaining that its “buffer of spare capacity has been restored to a sufficient level”.
Last year, the ESO issued and then withdrew Electricity Margin Notices for 4 and 5 November and then for 6 December. Before those, the last such warning was issued in 2016 when it was known as a Notice of Inadequate System Margin.
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