GB’s electricity system operator (ESO) expects to have sufficient operational surplus throughout winter in its Base Case, due to more battery and other capacity.
To support the energy industry’s preparations for the 2024/2025 Winter period the ESO has published its annual Early View of Winter Outlook.
It stated that the year-on-year change is due to increased interconnector capacity, new gas generation, growth in battery storage capacity and the effects of increased generation connected to the distribution networks.
A more in-depth Winter Outlook will be published later in the Autumn.
Alongside the Early View of Winter Outlook, the ESO has also published a Review of the 2023/24 Winter Outlook.
This report finds that the ESO’s forecasted margins across the 2023/24 winter were broadly in line with the expected range and there was no interruption to customer demand due to unavailable supply on the national transmission network.
Balancing costs fell by over 40% year-on-year.
To support the energy industry’s preparations for the 2024/2025 winter the ESO has today published its Early View of Winter Outlook report, to give organisations across Great Britain’s energy industry time to prepare for the coming winter.
As with previous years, a more in-depth Winter Outlook report will be published later in the year to provide more up to date information relating to the coming winter.
The Early View uses a Base Case scenario to assess the ability of de-rated capacity to meet peak average cold spell demand.
The ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), first introduced in the 2022/23 Winter as an enhanced action to mitigate against risks and uncertainties over recent years, has demonstrated that demand flexibility can be provided at a national scale.
ESO’s chief operating officer Kayte O’Neill said: “Our initial assessment of the winter ahead indicates that we will have sufficient margins throughout the period.
“Global energy markets are showing signs of stability, but uncertainties remain and therefore as a prudent system operator we remain vigilant, continuing to monitor potential risks and working closely with our partners to establish any actions necessary to build resilience.
“We are continuing to meet the challenge of reliably operating a changing electricity system as new technologies, and diverse forms of capacity, contribute to security of supply.”