Leaked UK Grid Report Says Net Zero Push May Raise Blackout Risks
Key Takeaways
- •Cornwall Insight said the expanding use of wind, solar and battery storage has reduced grid operators’ visibility over power flowing into and out of the GB network.
- •The report warned that less accurate demand and supply forecasts could increase consumer costs and make blackouts harder to avoid.
- •A whistleblower said National Energy System Operator staff have been raising these concerns for two years and claimed executives were reluctant to say renewables were making the system unsafe.
- •Neso warned that extreme temperatures were putting power supplies under heavy strain and asked energy companies on 9 July to generate additional electricity.
- •The report followed earlier calls from leading UK energy industry bodies for lower green levies on business energy bills to protect economic growth.
The United Kingdom’s net zero push could leave the country with higher electricity bills and greater exposure to blackouts, according to a leaked report commissioned by the national grid system.
The report, produced by energy consultancy Cornwall Insight for the National Energy System Operator (Neso) and shared with The Times by a whistleblower, said Neso cannot accurately map the modern power system amid the government’s green energy push.
The whistleblower said Neso, which is owned by the government, was “flying blind, every minute of every day” in its ability to understand energy supply and demand.
“We are risking a total blackout,” they said.
According to the report, inaccurate energy forecasts are raising costs for consumers and making it less likely that Neso will be able to prevent blackouts, underscoring how grid planning has become more complicated as the UK adds more intermittent generation and storage into the system.
The source also said national grid engineers “have been raising these issues for two years” but claimed executives “are too scared politically to say renewables are making the system unsafe.”
Cornwall Insight said in the report that the growth of renewable power sources such as wind farms, solar panels, and batteries has given grid operators “reduced visibility of the capacity which is supplying and taking power from the GB network,” making it harder to forecast supply and demand.
‘Extreme temperatures’ hitting power supplies
The report was completed only weeks before the UK’s June heatwave, and Neso has since warned that the “extreme temperatures” could hit power supplies as households’ use of fans and air conditioners places a record strain on the grid.
In an overnight notice issued on 9 July, Neso called on energy companies to generate additional power to meet demand during the heatwave.
That was the operator’s second warning in a month. It had also called for more power during June’s heatwave, when temperatures reached a record 37.7C.
The report comes after two of the UK’s leading energy industry bodies earlier this month urged new prime minister Andy Burnham to cut green levies on business energy bills, warning that failure to do so could jeopardize economic growth.
By City AM
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