(Bloomberg) -- The UK’s grid operator briefly issued its first warning this heating season that there isn’t enough of a buffer between predicted supply and demand with power prices rising to the highest this year.
The notice period, that was set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Monday, was canceled within a few hours, according to the National Energy System Operator’s website. The operator said on X that it was “confident” that it had sufficient margins to cover the evening despite the automated alert.
On Sunday, UK day-ahead power prices for Monday jumped to their highest since December 2023.
The UK is heading into winter with a healthier outlook for power generation, according to an outlook from NESO. However, wind generation, a major component of supply during the colder months, is very volatile.
Wind generation is forecast to fall below 3 gigawatts on Monday, according to Bloomberg’s model, but the tightness is expected to be short-lived with generation increasing steeply, reaching a high of well over 13 gigawatts on Tuesday.
That’s pushing down day-ahead power prices to £87.12 a megawatt-hour on Monday, after hitting their highest level this year on Sunday, Epex spot data show. The equivalent French contract settled at €71.03 a megawatt-hour.
READ: UK Relies on EU to Boost Power Supply After Shutting Coal
The UK closed its final coal fired power plant at the end of September, a key element of its backup power supply, as part of its net-zero ambitions.
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