Wednesday 8 March 2023

NG puts one of the contingency coal plants onto the grid for first time

Two coal-fired power stations in the UK, which were being kept on standby during the energy crisis, have begun supplying electricity to British households this winter.

The West Burton generation sites, operated by French energy company EDF, commenced electricity production on Tuesday afternoon.

This development coincided with strikes in France that reduced the amount of electricity being supplied to the UK through undersea cables, alongside an unusually low output of wind energy.

The power plants were previously warmed up a few times during the winter season on days characterised by cold weather and low sunlight.

However, this marks the first instance where they have begun producing electricity.