The system operator issued two Capacity Market notices as record temperatures drove increased demand and saw prices spike higher across Europe.
National Grid ESO said it was confident that electricity margins between demand and supply were sufficient but the alerts to providers in the Capacity Market were triggered automatically when margins are reduced. The two notices for Monday evening were later withdrawn.
Analysts at LCP Energy said the record temperatures were driving high demand, causing plant issues and a spike in prices which saw increases on Monday of up to 58% on the same time last week.
Partner Rajiv Gogna said the price rises were being driven by a number of factors.
“In these extreme heatwaves, grid systems see huge spikes in demand as a result of increased energy usage for cooling systems across the country,” he said.
“But a key driver and concern for those in the industry is that at the temperatures we are seeing across the UK and Europe, much of the energy systems are simply less efficient and can’t deliver the normal power capacity.”
In an update, the Energy Networks Association stressed network infrastructure is designed for extreme temperatures and was operating as normal, but companies in the areas affected by the Red Warning from the Met Office have “escalated their internal preparedness as a precaution”.
“This is done as standard when extreme weather is forecast and helps us prepare should there be any impact on customers,” it said.
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