Britain is firing up three coal-fired power stations ready for use on Monday as the country embraces a prolonged cold spell.
National Grid said the three plants – two at the Drax site in North Yorkshire and one at West Burton in Lincolnshire – would not necessarily be needed tomorrow.
But he asked them to be warmed up and ready to run if necessary.
The recent cold snap, which has brought sub-zero temperatures, icy fog and snow to parts of the country, will continue into next week.
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The standby plants are three of five coal-fired power plants that were slated to shut down but had their lives extended this winter in an effort to boost supplies amid energy security concerns.
“This morning we issued a notice to heat the winter emergency coal units. This measure should give the public confidence in the energy supply on Monday,” said the ESO (Electricity System Operator) branch of the National Grid.
“ESO as a prudent system operator has these additional contingency tools in place to operate the grid as usual and the public should continue to use energy as usual.”
In October, the ESO warned that “the winter is likely to be challenging for energy supplies across Europe”, but said it planned a margin of 6.3% to ensure a reliable electricity supply.
It’s the second time this winter that coal plants have gone on standby. They were also heated in December, when snow blanketed much of the country and demand for energy rose, but they ended up not being needed.
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2:19 Government support for business energy bills will be cut in April as the Chancellor moves to reduce taxpayers’ exposure to rising gas and electricity costs in 2023.
Coal is the most polluting type of fossil fuel and has been largely phased out in the UK as it seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent dangerous levels of climate change.
But ministers in Britain, along with those in Germany and Italy, have warned they could be forced to burn more coal after Russian President Vladimir Putin cut gas supplies to Europe, sending prices soaring and threatening supplies.
Germany has called its decision to fire up old coal plants a “bitter but necessary” pill to swallow as it looks to replace Russian gas.
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