National Grid PLC (LSE:NG.)’s system operating wing (ESO) has told four of the UK’s five reserve coal fired power stations to warm up for potential use on Tuesday.
Operated by Drax Group (LSE:DRX) and EDF Energy, the four units could be used to bolster energy supply, which is due to be particularly tight between 16:30 and 20:30, the ESO said.
Collectively, the coal stations could add 1.94GW of electricity to the grid, just shy of 5% of the UK’s 39GW demand on Tuesday afternoon, as per grid.iamkate data.
Keeping the contingency coal units open was anticipated to cost up to £420mln in August, when the government’s business department requested decommissioning was delayed until late March.
This would in turn be funded by balancing charges, according to National Grid, which are used to pay generators to react to demand changes in real time, ultimately being added to household bills.
A host of factors may have prompted the order, including forecasted colder weather in the UK, higher export demand abroad and potential knock-on effects from the closure of a key gas pipeline from Norfolk to Belgium, though no specific reasons were given by the ESO.
Exports to France sat at 1.26GW as on Tuesday afternoon, equivalent to a third of the entire operational output of the Drax power station in North Yorkshire.
Strikes by French power workers over planned pension reforms have cut the country’s energy production, leading it to import a peak of 14GW from neighbours on Tuesday morning.
Though UK exports to France were lower than on Monday, a vow from French unions to bring the country to a standstill could incline Britain to up supplies crossing the channel under an agreement between the two countries' system operators.
A gas interconnector running between Bacton in Norfolk and Zeebrugge, Belgium is also out of action, cutting as much as 26GW worth of fuel crossing the channel until it is due to reopen on Wednesday.
Operator Interconnector Inc, a subsidiary of Belgium-based Fluxys, blamed "equipment failure" for the stoppage, pausing increased exports seen since the Ukraine war began.
Colder weather in UK will likely lead to a hike in demand too, as households switch on heating, with Tuesday’s demand 30% higher than the yearly average.
The UK Health Security Agency warned temperatures could drop as much as -15C in northern England and Scotland on Tuesday night, as arctic winds look to bite.
National Grid ESO, also issuing an electricity margin notice for generators to up output, reassured it was not fearful of blackouts, but rather seeking a "greater safety cushion".
Drax, which is paid to heat its coal power units, saw its share price rise 1% to 630.5p.