Battling blackouts
28 Jan 2014
As the UK’s electricity generating capacity continues to fall faster than new plants can be built, major energy users may be asked to reduce their power use at times of peak demand. John McKenna looks at what these so-called “demand response” schemes could mean for the process industries.
Scare stories about Britain’s lights going out seem to be becoming more and more frequent.
As old coal and nuclear plants close with little in the way of new capacity replacing them, fears of blackouts led Prime Minister David Cameron last October to commission the Royal Academy of Engineering to produce a report on the state of UK energy capacity for the Prime Minister.
The report, GB Electricity Capacity Margin, says that the capacity margin of the country’s electricity system could continue to fall over the next five years as old generating plants close, presenting an increasing risk of power cuts.
To combat this, among other measures, it recommends asking industrial users to adjust their production schedules to avoid heavy energy usage at times of peak electricity demand.
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