Britain curbs electricity trading after straining Europe’s power grids

{"text":[[{"start":7.1,"text":"Britain has had to cut back on its practice of trading power with Europe to prevent blackouts at home, after the size and speed of its electricity trading put strain on the supplies of its neighbours."}],[{"start":18,"text":"The state-owned National Energy System Operator said it had put restrictions on the rate at which it can trade to reverse the flow of power between Britain and French, Danish, Dutch and Belgian markets after concerns emerged. "}],[{"start":32.75,"text":"“NESO has been working closely with [officials, regulators and counterparts] over a period of several years in order to implement a process that maintains security in all interconnected regions,” it said in a notice to the market. "}],[{"start":46.35,"text":"It added that the restrictions, which started on May 20, would last until the end of the year “while medium and longer term solutions are agreed”. "}],[{"start":54.75,"text":"Electricity supply and demand have to be matched second by second to avoid blackouts. NESO, which is responsible for balancing the market in Britain, smooths out any mismatches in the wholesale market by buying and selling power or paying power stations to switch off. "}],[{"start":70.1,"text":"Post-Brexit trading rules mean Britain’s power system is no longer so closely aligned with others on the continent, meaning its decisions can often catch system operators in Europe off guard."}],[{"start":82.64999999999999,"text":"The new change limits NESO’s tools to manage the system and means it may need to lean more heavily on gas-fired power stations or pay wind farms to switch off more often, potentially pushing up costs for consumers. "}],[{"start":96.05,"text":"It also illustrates the challenges of relying on other markets for power supplies, which is an important part of Britain’s energy strategy as it tries to balance its own supply from intermittent wind and solar farms. "}],[{"start":109.64999999999999,"text":"Phil Hewitt, director at market experts Montel, said: “In an increasingly interconnected system, what happens in one country impacts another. Britain has to co-operate more with its European neighbours.”"}],[{"start":121.19999999999999,"text":"When it is windier or sunnier than expected, or electricity cannot be moved to where it is needed, NESO often sells a lot of power to European markets via giant undersea power cables — known as interconnectors — and also imports power when Britain needs more. "}],[{"start":137.25,"text":"This often means reversing trades already booked by traders in the wholesale market on the interconnectors, meaning a European market that was expecting to receive a lot of power in a particular hour could suddenly find that it will be exporting instead, or vice versa. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":153.7,"text":"But this has caused problems for operators in those markets as it leaves them needing to quickly find new ways to balance their own systems, either throughout the country or in particular regions directly served by the interconnector. "}],[{"start":166.75,"text":"Traders do not have to show their positions immediately, meaning the system operators in Europe might not find out about the change in flows until an hour before it happens. "}],[{"start":176.6,"text":"Elia, the Belgian system operator, said NESO’s “large reverse intraday trading” activity had “raised concerns” among European counterparts."}],[{"start":186.54999999999998,"text":"Such trades can “significantly influence day-ahead market outcomes with possible operational issues on the European continent”, the company added, pointing to “tangible impacts on balancing margins”."}],[{"start":199.39999999999998,"text":"The new restrictions mean that NESO will limit the rate at which it can reverse power flows to 1,500 megawatts across the four markets, or 300MW on any of the six affected interconnectors, three of which connect Britain to France. The total potential capacity across all the cables is 7.4 gigawatts.  "}],[{"start":219.99999999999997,"text":"The limits apply only to trading in the intraday market, and if NESO is in dire need it could contact system operators in neighbouring countries and ask for help. It can also continue to trade power as normal where it is not reversing booked flows. "}],[{"start":235.44999999999996,"text":"Sir Keir Starmer’s government is in talks with the EU over a potential “reset” that could see the two power markets more closely linked again."}],[{"start":243.74999999999997,"text":"The potential longer-term solutions were “likely to be a form of co-ordinated capacity mechanism with a potential longer-term view to re-enter the European Internal Energy Market”, NESO said."}],[{"start":254.94999999999996,"text":"TenneT, the Netherlands’ transmission system operator, said it welcomed the change, calling it a “pragmatic, temporary measure”."}],[{"start":270.59999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779522747_2838.mp3"}