The tragic reality of energy independence!

Screwdriva

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/national-grid-nears-deal-third-coal-power-station-on-standby

With gas under global supply constraints and the long overdue Chinese expulsion from nuclear, we are now left with only one "on demand" power source. With no ability to store gas, and a myopic renewables policy, we appear to be regressing. 

EcoScruples

Never did I think I'd see the day when we were so reliant on others for what we should build ourselves.
A good energy mix is what is required, I guess those plumes of burnt coal will be here for a little longer.

diystarter7

I read somewhere that combi boilers use a lot more electricity than I believed.  However, I'm still guessing that turning on gas combi heating has gone up but nowhere close to electric prices am I right?

We have those heat control valves on all rads bar one and we turn almost all of them down to the lowest setting other than the sitting room, landing, hall and bathroom.

Am I right re combi boiler and use of electric?

gazapc

diystarter7 said:

I read somewhere that combi boilers use a lot more electricity than I believed.  However, I'm still guessing that turning on gas combi heating has gone up but nowhere close to electric prices am I right?

We have those heat control valves on all rads bar one and we turn almost all of them down to the lowest setting other than the sitting room, landing, hall and bathroom.

Am I right re combi boiler and use of electric?

My Worcester combi uses a few Watts in standby and ~180 Watts when alight, mainly I imagine for the pump.

Why do you think combi boilers use lots of electric?

Mikeyboy01443

There is already an electricity shortage if the price of export is anything to go by...

thevilla

Mikeyboy01443 said:

There is already an electricity shortage if the price of export is anything to go by...

I would imagine we'd stop exporting 2.5gw to France before anyone need worry about shortages.

EricMears

thevilla said:

I would imagine we'd stop exporting 2.5gw to France before anyone need worry about shortages.

But what organisation decides whether or not we're going to make such exports ?  If for instance it was a French owned company then the interests of UK customers might not be their top priority !

macman

If there is surplus capacity, as there obviously is at this time of the year, then there is absolutely no problem in exporting it to France, and it'll be relatively cheap. They have a shortage due to the number of reactors offline (nearly half the French total) and the others running on lower output due to a combination of old age and hot weather. They do not have as much gas fired plant as we do to provide an alternative, and little wind-power. 

Ectophile

EricMears said:

thevilla said:

I would imagine we'd stop exporting 2.5gw to France before anyone need worry about shortages.

But what organisation decides whether or not we're going to make such exports ?  If for instance it was a French owned company then the interests of UK customers might not be their top priority !

It will be the energy market.  Producers will export to wherever prices are highest.

Cutting off that link would be a bad move, as we often rely on it when there's a shortage of electricity in the UK.  And we really don't have enough generation capacity in the South East any more - Dungeness nuclear station is now permanenty shut down.

Mikeyboy01443

So why are export prices so high at the moment?

paul991

we are exporting 10 percent of production even though wind is down to  10 percent of capacity so  surplus will get higher as wind increases