UK spending on balancing the energy system reaches £500 million — OilPrice

In the United Kingdom, spending on balancing the electricity system reached a record £500 million in September. A significant share of wind generation is concentrated in Scotland, while the largest consumption centres, including London, are located in the south and southeast of the country, OilPrice reports.

Grid constraints

According to the publication, the United Kingdom is increasing the number of wind farms faster than it is building infrastructure to transmit the electricity they generate southward. Due to grid constraints, the country has to pay for system balancing and resort to emergency electricity imports.

In one such case, the additional cost of balancing the grid in a single day amounted to the equivalent of $51.2 million. At the same time, according to Bloomberg, cited by OilPrice, electricity generated in the south of the country was exported to France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

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Need for new lines

Jason Mann, managing director at FTI Consulting, said that the locations where the generated electricity would be consumed were taken into limited account when wind farms were built. According to him, the associated costs could persist for generations.

OilPrice notes that expanding the grid and building additional power transmission lines will require billions in investment. Earlier this month, the UK regulator Ofgem activated a compensation mechanism for suppliers that purchased electricity in advance if customers switch to cheaper offers after wholesale market prices fall.