UK Prepares for Winter Storms by Restarting Coal Plants and Asking Homes to Conserve Power

The UK's grid operator has asked three reserve coal units to be ready to supply power and consumers to curb demand on Tuesday, as it tries for a second consecutive day to plug the gap left by a dearth of wind generation.

The measures taken by the British government demonstrate how vulnerable the country remains to colder weather and fluctuations in wind output. On Monday, households were asked to help balance the network after freezing temperatures caused electricity demand to spike. This highlights the challenges Britain faces in terms of energy security.

National Grid's Electricity System Operator has asked two units of Drax Group's coal station and one from Electricite de France's West Burton plant to warm up from Tuesday just after 4 a.m. local time. The operator will seek to cut another 341 megawatts of demand on Tuesday between 4:30 and 6 p.m., according to its website. This comes after the operator spent about £1.3 million ($1.6 million) Monday to incentivize households to save energy.

The grid operator is testing its Demand Flexibility Service to set incentives at the right level to encourage consumers to participate. Last week, Centrica Plc, the UK's largest energy supplier, said it would double payments to households willing to save power during peak demand times this winter.

The grid operator said in an emailed statement that the use of additional services is not an indication that electricity supplies are at risk, but that greater options are needed to manage the network as normal.

The UK is asking consumers to turn down their power as London freezes. This is in an effort to avoid blackouts during the cold snap.

Households that have signed up for the plan with their energy supplier could receive a £12 discount for not using the oven between 5 and 6 p.m. on Monday, according to estimates by LCP Delta.

Rajiv Gogna, a partner at LCP Delta, said that tightness is predicted to remain for the beginning of this week, but that the situation should ease from Wednesday thanks to higher temperatures and wind output.

The grid operator had asked three coal units to warm up in preparation for Monday evening's peak demand, but later cancelled the request when it became clear that there was enough generation to meet demand. The operator had set aside as much as £395 million to pay coal units earmarked for closure to stay active this winter as reserve capacity. However, with the UK targeting a phase-out of coal-fired power by 2024, it is unlikely that this reserve capacity will be needed for much longer.