Britain will be at a lower risk of losing power this winter but the blackout prevention scheme will remain in place, the National Grid has said.
In a report released on Thursday, the National Grid said that despite the improved outlook, the demand flexibility service introduced to ease pressure on the power network, will be maintained.
The scheme, which was activated for the first time in January, sees volunteers paid to turn off appliances during times of peak demand.
The National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) also said that power plants, wind farms and other generation methods are expected to be able to provide more than enough power to meet demand this coming winter.
In an early outlook ahead of winter it said that the grid would have an average margin – the difference between supply of electricity and demand for it – of 4.8 gigawatts (GW) this coming winter.
That gives the system a margin of eight per cent – higher than last winter – reducing the period when demand might outstrip supply to just 0.1 hours, down from 0.2 hours a year earlier.
ESO corporate affairs director Jacob Rigg said: “That’s really healthy. But even within that there will be tight days.
“There will be cold snaps in the winter and therefore we do expect to use our normal operational tools.”
He said that ESO is still in negotiations with energy company Drax to ensure that its coal power plant is on standby in case it is needed next winter.
ESO is also planning to bring back the so-called demand flexibility service – a system which pays customers to reduce their electricity use during tighter times.
The report comes as the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee ends on June 30.
The scheme was established last October and reduced the amount a supplier could charge per unit of gas or electricity to an annual equivalent of around £2,500 for a typical household.
Ofgem also announced that the average household energy bill will fall by £426 a year from July after the regulator dropped its price cap following tumbling wholesale prices.
The regulator announced it is cutting its price cap from £3,280 to £2,074 from July 1, marking the first time consumers on default tariffs have seen their prices fall since the global gas crisis took hold more than 18 months ago.
