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Tempus Energy has called for an investigation into the black start contracts awarded to two coal-fired power plants by National Grid.
Last week SSE rowed back on plans to close three of the four units at its Fiddler’s Ferry plant after it secured a contract to provide “ancillary services” to National Grid using one of the units. The following day Drax announced it had also secured a black start contract.
Tempus chief executive Sara Bell urged the competition and financial conduct authorities to scrutinise the deals, and said the company was also considering options for “legal and regulatory redress”.
“This is a bilateral, behind closed doors transaction, in support of a coal plant that only a few weeks ago stated it could not continue to operate – even with a capacity market subsidy,” she said.
“Worse still, the sudden nature of the deal announcement has moved the market to the detriment of other market participants.”
Under black start contracts generators are paid an unspecified sum to provide the ability to restart the grid in the event of the national power outage. In order to be eligible plants must be able to start up independently, without access to power from the grid.
Yesterday National Grid defended the contacts awarded to SSE and Drax after unnamed sources quoted in the Financial Times accused the firm of signing them in a “blind panic” as it sought to head off a capacity crunch in the coming winter.
The company said although the terms were confidential, the contracts were awarded in a “competitive process” and efforts had been made to avoid market distortion.
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