National Gas’s chief executive Jon Butterworth has warned that demand from gas-fired power stations is expected to be “maxed out” this weekend due to below-freezing conditions.
The UK is expected to rely on gas to provide up to two-thirds of electricity this week amid freezing temperatures and low winds, The Telegraph reported, citing data from National Gas and National Grid.
The data showed that the demand forecast for gas used by customers connected to the National Transmission System on Friday was 377.38 million cubic meters (mcm), short of the 539 mcm margins notice trigger threshold that instigates system balancing.
This is above the seasonal average for demand for gas at this time of year, which is 273.2 mcm.
Demand is expected to stay elevated through the weekend due to below-freezing temperatures.
Energy suppliers are offering to pay customers to cut electricity demand as part of a demand flexibility service trial being carried out by the national grid operator, in which it will initially offer a minimum price of £3 per kilowatt-hour.
The National Grid Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) restarted a grid balancing initiative called the Demand Flexibility Service on 29 November, for the first time this winter, where energy companies offered to pay customers to use less energy.
The scheme was first introduced last winter and rolled out to 1.6 million households and businesses to shift electricity usage outside peak demand hours and help the system operator manage supply when margins are tight, National Grid said.
The grid operator is scheduled to do the same again on Friday 1 December from 16:30 to 18:00 GMT to preserve energy, which will be the second of 12 ‘tests’ due to run from November through to March 2024.