Two of the UK’s coal-fired power stations that were kept online in case they were needed during the energy crisis have started supplying electricity to British homes for the first time this winter. The West Burton generation sites run by French energy giant EDF started producing electricity on Tuesday afternoon.
It came as strikes in France reduced the amount of electricity the country could supply to Britain through undersea cables. Wind electricity production is also unusually low. The Government approached several coal-fired power stations last year that were set to close down, asking them to be on standby this winter amid an energy supply crunch.
The plants have been warmed up a few times so far this winter on cold, overcast and still days. But Tuesday is the first time they have started to produce electricity. It is the job of the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) to ensure there is always more electricity generation available than it expects households to use.
