By Paul Homewood
h/t Paul Kolk
Meanwhile we are becoming ever more reliant on imported power:
Britain is importing record amounts of electricity from Europe to keep the lights on, as the shutdown of coal and nuclear power plants puts more pressure on the grid.
The surge in imports follows the opening of two new links between the UK and the Continent, increasing the amount of foreign power that is theoretically available for use in Britain by one-third.
According to data published by the National Energy System Operator (Neso), net imports totalled 26.3 terawatt hours from January to September – a new record for the UK.
That beat the previous high of 24.6 terawatt hours reached three years ago.
The biggest share of imports so far this year has come from France, where the bulk of the power is generated by the country’s large fleet of nuclear power stations.
Supporters argue that interconnectors – high voltage undersea cables which connect the electricity systems of different countries – allow Britain to take advantage of cheaper prices across the Channel, benefiting consumers.
But critics have warned that the growing dependence on imports also poses potential risks, amid concerns about interconnector outages and export restrictions that have been adopted by some countries such as Norway and Germany.
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I have no objection at all to importing electricity. But to rely on it is foolhardy in the extreme.
Until all of our coal power stations were shut down, we had large surpluses of generating capacity. This not only gave us energy security, it also ensured a highly competitive market place, meaning low prices for consumers.
The Telegraph make this interesting observation;
Ofgem, the energy regulator, has recently indicated it is against further interconnectors being brought online.
The watchdog has suggested that it wanted to block the construction of new cables — which could take capacity to as much as 20 gigawatts in the next decade — because they risk benefiting power producers more than consumers.
Countries that have the ability to export their unused power tend to see prices rise due to demand from abroad, Ofgem found.
Under the Government’s plans to reach a “net zero” power system in the 2030s, ministers want Britain to become a net exporter of power.
“Not only might the imports we want not be available in the future, but Ofgem has also declined almost all future proposed interconnector projects,” Ms Porter said.
“So when Neso says it expects to have more capacity in future, where is that going to come from?
And the useless response from DESNZ?
On Friday, a spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We are committed to boosting Britain’s energy security.
“Our mission is for clean power by 2030 because this is the best way to achieve energy independence, protect bill payers and reduce imports.