Four summer grid warnings expose Britain’s resilience challenge
Great Britain has issued four summer Electricity Margin Notices (EMNs) for the first time, prompting the Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Power Systems (AMPS) to launch a new UK Grid Resilience Tracker.
EMNs are used by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to alert the electricity market when additional generation may be needed to address an anticipated shortfall. Traditionally associated with winter peaks, the notices issued on 23 and 26 June, 9 July and 12 August point to a changing set of challenges for the power system.
The first notice came ahead of the evening of 24 June, amid extreme heat, low wind generation and lower-than-expected gas generation availability.
AMPS says the events are not blackout warnings, but they highlight questions around the amount and type of flexible capacity needed to maintain security as the UK becomes increasingly reliant on intermittent renewable generation.
“One summer Electricity Margin Notice is completely unprecedented, so with four in the space of seven weeks we’re really entering new territory,” said Neil Smith, Director General of AMPS.
The new tracker will monitor significant periods of system pressure, including EMNs, generation and reserve shortfalls, stability issues and interconnector constraints. It will also record the contribution of dispatchable generation, battery storage, interconnectors, reserve capacity and demand-side flexibility.
AMPS will additionally examine the replacement of standby generation at substations and other critical infrastructure with lower-carbon alternatives, assessing whether new technologies can deliver comparable capacity, operating duration, start-up reliability and resilience.
Smith said the tracker is intended to provide a clearer picture of “what capacity is actually being relied upon” when electricity margins tighten.
The AMPS UK Grid Resilience Tracker will be updated as new system events emerge and is available exclusively to AMPS members.
