Tata Steel has said that its plants in Wales will pause operations for hours at a time to reduce its load on the energy grid during periods of peak demand this winter. The UK's largest steelmaker will be voluntarily slowing or pausing some of its UK operations for hours at a time on particularly cold evenings to help energy companies manage high consumer demand this winter.
In an arrangement called 'load management', Tata Steel says it responds to prices, with electricity changing hourly, and turns down or turns off some energy-intensive production lines such as rolling mills and coating lines, during peak periods.
The steelmaker said the Trostre site in Llanelli will pause its 'five stand' cold rolling mill and double reduction mill, as well as reduce the highest loads on its electro-tinning lines for short periods during the coldest spells this winter. In Llanwern in Newport, it will pause its cold rolling and pickling lines for some hours.
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Port Talbot will pause its Sinter plant hot and cold rolling mills for some hours during the coldest spells this winter. The plant will also be maximizing the output of its on-site power plant. The site has its own power-generating capacity through the use of its on-site process gases and says it may be able to export electricity to the grid during these periods.
Works manager for energy Steve Maynard said: "We have a highly developed understanding of energy markets, so we can minimise costs while also contributing to the security of the energy system. We voluntarily minimise our pull on the grid on the coldest evenings when the margin between supply and demand are at their tightest, and our detailed planning makes sure we avoid any disruption to our own steel customers."
He added: "The continuous processes at Port Talbot such as the Blast Furnaces, Coke Ovens and Steelplant, which run 24/7 365 days a year, will still be operating and producing process gases that we can use to generate electricity in our Power Plant.”
"In 2020 we invested around £37million in a new 30MW turbo-alternator, which allows us to use even more of these process gases than before, and is helping the steelworks to become more energy self-sufficient.”
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