Energy news in general

gpman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080374#Comment_82080374

I don't think it will be a case of anyone's "turn"

This is not a case of Ofgem appointing a SoLR, rather a business seeking offers with a view to divest what they say is a well-run, fully hedged and efficient segment, albeit no longer considered core to their future business intentions.

Ultimately it will probably be down to the ESB board who will decide if, to who, and on what terms they agree to sell So Energy, based on any offers received

molerat

Not seen this reported elsewhere. UK seconds from blackouts on 23rd June with bosses accused of trying to cover it up.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/seconds-disaster-britain-forced-beg-110000313.html

The_Groat_Counter

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082102#Comment_82082102

Why am I not surprised to have guessed correctly - having read the headline - that it's an article from the Telegraph!

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082121#Comment_82082121

Would you prefer to read it in other media - like say

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/13/lawyers-to-investigate-claims-of-gb-power-grid-cover-up-over-blackout-risk

Just as we have been reliant - at great cost in the past - like the record over £9700/MWh in July 2022 paid on Belgian interconnect - to keep the SE and London grid up and stable - in a similar heat wave.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62296443

And that before we got rid of last 4+ GW of GB reliable mainland coal generation in UK - of the over 10GW we have abandoned in the last 6 years UK wide.

Renewables - wind and solar combined have failed to deliver even 1% of the UKs demand in recent past. Just 0.25-0.3 GW across sequential 1/2 hr slots - last Jan. More like 0.6% of rated.

Even if doubled the installations - the theoretical capacity - at the same output factors - you'd still only get 0.5-0.6 GW.

About the equivalent of just one of the 4 turbines at the Ratcliffe on Soar coal plant shut in 2024.

gpman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082160#Comment_82082160

The BBC article was published 25 July 2022.

- Is that not a bit of a stretch to be posting now in what is supposed to be an Energy News thread?

"Britain paid the highest price on record for electricity in London last week as the capital narrowly avoided a power blackout, it has emerged.

… the amount bought at the record amount was minimal, reportedly enough to supply eight houses for a year,…"

So about 0.02GWh if I've calculated that correctly.

Molehill → Mountain ?

The_Groat_Counter

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082160#Comment_82082160

I'm aware things were a bit tight on the evening of 23 June. It's the high-drama Telegraph headline I was commenting on… and the underlying tone of the accompanying article correlates with that.

In my mind the heatwaves along with the more frequent extreme weather, all of which was forecast as part of human-induced climate change, do rather underline the point that we need to change our ways - and that includes changing how we generate electricity.

QrizB

Would you prefer to read it in other media

Yes, I would. Per the Guardian:

Great Britain’s grid operator has brought in independent investigators to look into accusations that its staff were involved in a cover-up over the power system being at a greater risk of blackouts during the heatwave.

That's a very different story to the one you'd imagine from a "Seconds from disaster" headline.

the record over £9700/MWh in July 2022 paid on Belgian interconnect

That particular event wasn't a shortage of UK electricity, but a combination of grid constraints that meant the simplest way to get electricity into that corner of the grid was to buy it from the Continent.

Paying £9700/MWh for a few hundred MWh was the cheapest available option. We discussed it on this forum in depth at the time, if your memory needs refreshing.

It's misleading to try and pin it on renewables.

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082361#Comment_82082361

Seems like the issue was that, possibly for political reasons, a CMN was not issued the day before this event.

QrizB

FWIW, there was an Octopus Saving Session on the 23rd of June so the Demand Response Service was being exercised. That suggests the supply constriction was foreseen.

It paid me 60p.

There were saving sessions most days that week, and the following day (the 24th) was the best-paying session of the year to date.

debitcardmayhem

Yep I got 2p (16pts) and whilst checking I won and declined Greggs hot drink again.