Electricity in Great Britain
The National Grid covers most of mainland Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands, and there are interconnectors to Northern Ireland and to other European countries.
[11] Nationalisation plans are currently underway following the proposed introduction of Great British Energy subsequent to the 2024 King's Speech, which also oversaw increased dedication towards net-zero targets by 2050.
The future body also intends to operate and manage clean power projects at a state level, in contrast with private entities having done so for several years.
for the government, a figure criticised by the opposition and media alike, although Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has claimed it will have an environmental impact in forwarding sustainability, as well as predicting that it will reduce average electricity thresholds by £1,400 universally.
The entity will remain in preliminary stages before implementation of the Great British Energy Bill, whereupon it shall be established after royal assent given in accordance with the law of the United Kingdom.
In 1925, the British government asked Lord Weir, a Glaswegian industrialist, to solve the problem of Britain's inefficient and fragmented electricity supply industry.
[19] The 1926 Act created the Central Electricity Board, which set up the UK's first synchronised, nationwide AC grid, running at 132 kV, 50 Hz.
The first "grid tower" was erected near Edinburgh on 14 July 1928,[20] and work was completed in September 1933, ahead of schedule and on budget.
The rapid load growth led the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) to carry out a study of future transmission needs, completed in September 1960.
Considered in the study, together with the increased demand, was the effect on the transmission system of the rapid advances in generator design, resulting in projected power stations of 2,000–3,000 MW installed capacity.
These new stations were mostly to be sited where advantage could be taken of a surplus of cheap low-grade fuel and adequate supplies of cooling water, but these locations did not coincide with the load centres.
However, in addition to the technical problem of very high fault levels, many more lines would have been required to obtain the estimated transfers at 275 kV.
From 1965, the grid was partly upgraded to 400 kV, beginning with a 150-mile (241 km) line from Sundon to West Burton, to become the Supergrid.
The United Kingdom started to develop a nuclear generating capacity in the 1950s, with Calder Hall being connected to the grid on 27 August 1956.
Starting in 1993, and continuing through the 1990s, a combination of factors led to a so-called Dash for Gas, during which the use of coal was scaled back in favour of gas-fuelled generation.
[29][30] On 21 April 2017, Britain went a full day without using coal power for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, according to the National Grid.
Similar concerns were raised by a report published in 2000 by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (Energy – The Changing Climate).
[38] Beyond these new plants, there were a number of options that might be used to provide the new generating capacity, while minimising carbon emissions and producing less residues and contamination.
Fossil fuel power plants might provide a solution if there was a satisfactory and economical way of reducing their carbon emissions.
[42][43] In June 2013, the industry regulator Ofgem warned that the UK's energy sector faced "unprecedented challenges" and that "spare electricity power production capacity could fall to 2% by 2015, increasing the risk of blackouts".
Proposed solutions "could include negotiating with major power users for them to reduce demand during peak times in return for payment".
[45] In January 2019 Nick Butler, in the Financial Times, wrote: "costs of all forms of energy (apart from nuclear) have fallen dramatically and there is no shortage of supply", partly based on the reserve capacity auction[46] for 2021–2022 achieving extremely low prices.
[53] The gross production of electricity was 393 TWh in 2004, which gave the UK the 9th position in the world's top producers in that year.
In 2005 the UK produced 3.2% of the world total natural gas; ranking fifth after Russia (21.8%), United States (18%), Canada (6.5%) and Algeria (3.2%).
[64][65] This date was met as Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the UK's last operational coal power station, ceased running on 30 September 2024.
The United Kingdom had continuously burned coal for the generation of electricity since the opening of Holborn Viaduct power station in 1882.
[68] On 21 April 2017, the mainland grid burnt no coal to make electricity for the first complete 24 hour period.
[73] In August and September 2021, the UK had to restart coal plants, amidst a lack of wind, as power imports from Europe were insufficient to satisfy demand.
For each supply point the supplier has to pay the various costs of transmission, distribution, meter operation, data collection, tax etc.
The UK historically had a coal-driven grid that generated large amounts of CO2 and other pollutants including SO2 and nitrogen oxides, leading to some acid rain found in Norway and Sweden.
