UK power grid could face lowest-ever demand this summer, operator says

By Nina Chestney

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's power grid could experience its lowest-ever electricity demand this summer as renewables generation and cheap power imports from Europe keep the system well supplied, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) said on Wednesday.

In its summer outlook covering April to October, NESO said the electricity transmission network could need to operate at its lowest-ever level at below 13.4 gigawatts (GW) at some points, less than in June 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns suppressed electricity demand below normal summer levels.

Peak demand is forecast to be 29.7 GW this summer.

Already this year, solar power generation has been at record highs in March and April, reaching 12.68 GW, more than Britain's total import capacity from interconnectors with Europe.

Britain is also expected to benefit from power imports from Europe this summer due to the healthy availability of conventional power stations, the report said.

For the grid to operate at low demand levels, NESO has to ensure it receives a minimum continual flow of electricity for it to remain balanced.

"NESO expects there to be sufficient supply to meet demand and operational reserve requirements at all times this summer," it said in the report.

It added that it had tools in place to manage the network at times of low demand, such as Negative Reserve Active Power Margin notices, which are a way to tell Britain's power plants to turn down output to maintain grid stability.

Separately, Britain's gas network operator National Gas said it expects there to be enough supply to meet UK gas demand this summer. Demand will mostly be met by UK domestic gas field supplies, along with imports from Norway and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments.

In its summer outlook, it said it expects total gas demand to be 29 billion cubic metres (bcm) this summer compared with 28 bcm last summer.

UK gas exports to Europe are forecast to increase as the continent enters the summer with low storage levels.

National Gas added it will be undertaking maintenance across the transmission system this summer to ensure it is ready for the winter ahead, including work across 900 km of pipes and at all 21 gas compressor stations.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney;Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Holmes)