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01/01/2024

The Demand for Flexibility

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a group of people in an office

The reality of our energy system

On 12 December 2022, National Grid took the decision to put three coal power generators on standby because they were concerned that electricity demand would outstrip supply during a cold snap.

It is the type of decision the grid operator makes several times a day every day, balancing supply and demand and ensuring the grid maintains a steady frequency. One wrong turn and the results can be catastrophic, leaving homes and businesses without the power they rely on.

Fortunately, on that day in December, we didn’t experience blackouts and the coal fired power stations were stood down, but it demonstrated two things - the importance of maintaining balance on the grid and how close we remain to relying on some of the dirtiest fossil fuels to keep the lights on.

It’s clear that we cannot keep relying on these types of fuels and as a country, the UK has a legally binding commitment to reach Net Zero by 2050.

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Renewable Intermittency

Bhakti P.

Sr. Dir. Inbound Product Management.

It doesn’t produce greenhouse gas emissions, diversifies our energy supply, promotes energy security, and creates jobs in manufacturing, installation, and supporting industries. That said, renewable energy has one big challenge… intermittency. Intermittency refers to the unreliability of renewable energy, and more specifically the fact that we can’t pick and choose when and how much renewable energy is generated at any given time. Power from wind turbines and solar panels is only generated when the wind blows and the sun shines and how much is generated is dependent on how hard the wind is blowing and the sun is shining at any given moment.

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a woman holding a string of lights

Balancing the grid

National Grid is constantly engaged in a balancing act to ensure supply equals demand.

If demand on the grid outstrips supply, the supply of energy going into the grid must be increased (or demand decreased) and if demand is lower than supply, then the supply needs to be reduced (or demand increased) to match it accordingly.

If the balance isn’t maintained, the end result will be widespread blackouts and significant damage to infrastructure.

Most balancing is done primarily through the supply side with National Grid working with flexible energy generators to adjust supply to match demand.

Historically, this has been achieved by either topping up low carbon energy sources, such as solar, hydroelectric and wind power with fossil fuel generation, or by reducing generation from fossil fuels if demand is lower than supply.

In a net zero world these environmentally harmful fossil fuel sources of energy will need to be replaced and we won’t be able to rely on them.