Britain will start up three ready-to-use coal power plants on Monday as a prolonged cold spell blankets the country.
National Grid says three plants – two at Drax’s site in North Yorkshire and one at West Burton in Lincolnshire – will not necessarily be needed tomorrow.
But it did ask for them to be started and ready to run if required.
The recent cold spell that has brought temperatures below zero degrees, freezing fog and snowfall in many parts of the country will continue into next week.
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Standby plants are three out of five coal plants Power plants were set to retire, but their lives were extended through this winter to increase supply amid concerns about energy security.
The National Grid’s ESO (Electrical System Operator) branch said: “This morning, we made an announcement about the heating of backup coal units in the winter. This measure will help the public. They rely on Monday’s energy supply.”
“ESO as a system operator prudently has these tools in place for additional redundancy in order to operate the network as usual and the public should continue to use energy as usual.”
In October, ESO warned that it was “probably going to be a challenging winter for energy supplies across Europe” but said it was planning for a 6.3% margin to ensure reliable power supply.
This is the second time this winter coal power plants have to go on standby. They also warm up in December when snow covers much of the country and energy needs soar, but they’re ultimately unnecessary.
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Government support for business energy bills will be cut in April as the prime minister moves to reduce taxpayer exposure to soaring electricity and gas costs by 2023
Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel and has been widely phased out in the UK as it seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions and avert dangerous levels of climate change.
But ministers in Britain, along with those in Germany and Italy, warned they could be forced to burn more coal after Russian President Vladimir Putin squeezed Europe’s gas supplies, sending prices soaring and threatening supply threat.
Germany called the decision to burn old coal plants “bitter but necessary” swallow the pill as it seeks to replace Russian gas.
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