electricity

The British government and Ofgem have recently announced several changes to the National Grid which will transform how we use, store and generate electricity. Regulations will be eased, thus allowing private individuals and businesses with small-scale renewable generators to sell energy more easily, and public investment is set for the battery sector alongside several other rule changes. The headline-grabbing claim of these modifications is that consumers will save up to £40 billion by 2050¹ whilst they should also address fears about a lack of generator capacity but their effectiveness in practice remains to be seen.

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Friday 21st April 2017 was an important date in the history of electricity production in the UK. For the first time since 1882, coal provided no electricity to the National Grid as West Burton 1 power station was taken off-line for 24 hours¹. Instead gas, renewables and nuclear power filled the gap to ensure the lights did not turn out. The percentage of British electricity produced by coal burning dropped from 23% in 2015 to 9% in 2016¹, a dramatic fall, but at a time of record low oil and gas prices, it remains to be seen whether fellow fossil fuels will see similar reductions compared to renewables and what effect this may have on the test and measurement industry.