They say the cost of electricity could force factory shutdowns, production slowdowns, and switches from gas to more polluting energy sources such as fuel oil, potentially causing embarrassment ahead of the upcoming Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow. Some of the most energy-intensive industries have issued a plea to the government for financial support to help them cope with soaring energy prices. While factories are not expected to face electricity blackouts, they say they need help with costs. The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is due to meet leaders from industries such as steel, glass, ceramics and chemicals on Friday, but is expected to tell them to forget about receiving any extra assistance. Planned shutdowns at gas plants and the retirement of two nuclear reactors are also factors in the tighter margin for the winter. Half of the 2GW cable is expected to be unavailable until March. It said it believed there was enough slack in the system to avoid blackouts affecting households and factories.īut it said that conditions had worsened since a prediction it made in July, after a fire knocked out a high-voltage subsea power cable importing electricity from France. The Grid’s electricity system operator (ESO) said the amount of reserve electricity supply that could be called upon was expected to be 6.6% of demand, but could fall as low as 4.2%. The unfolding energy crisis has coincided with the Grid’s annual assessment of Great Britain’s resilience to disruption to electricity supplies, with the key “margin” figure falling to its lowest in five years.
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