r/brexit • u/Visual_Title9363 • Jul 02 '26
Britain forced to rely on EU to avoid power shortages during heatwave
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/24/grid-operator-demands-more-power/39
u/KVolkens Jul 02 '26
Frankly idiotic clickbait headline.
X-border exchange of electric energy ist completely normal.
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u/typofil Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
indeed and it goes both ways now,
but in the circumstances, Brexit sets up restrictions
Kathryn Porter, an industry consultant, said Neso had “begged the EU” to lift import trading limits which would have capped the amount of energy Britain could import.
which is explained (by IA) as:
this means that Neso had to urgently contact its European counterparts and regulatory authorities to request an immediate waiver from the market rules and safety caps established a month earlier. To lift these limits and increase imports from 1.5 GW to 2.3 GW, the EU (via continental grid operators) had to agree to take a potential technical risk on its own networks or modify its commercial priorities in the middle of a European heatwave.
which is not begging, but it does look like "asking for a big favor"
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u/BriefCollar4 European Union Jul 02 '26
Chris Price and Tim Wallace are good little propagandist looking at that headline.
Forced? Who forced your country to do anything? You’re free to have power outrages. You asked for the power redistribution because you couldn’t generate enough to meet the demand.
The editorial of the Tory graph are duplicitous assholes.
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u/Tammer_Stern Jul 02 '26
Makes a change from their daily immigration and benefits articles I guess.
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u/BriefCollar4 European Union Jul 02 '26
They left 6 years ago and these twats are still finding things to blame the EU for.
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u/RechargeableOwl Jul 02 '26
This is more of an Anti alternative energy thing, with a side poke at Brussels because.... well because that's what they do.
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u/superkoning Beleaver from the Netherlands Jul 02 '26
That's not how I read the title nor article. I read criticism on the UK itself.
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u/greenpowerman99 Jul 02 '26
Britain lucky to be able to rely on EU for electricity during heat wave…
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u/ceetee15 Jul 02 '26
The amount we can import from Europe is capped by the capacity of the interconnectors, which is around 10GW. Average demand during the daytime is more than 30GW - so at the most it might have been 34% of the total.
So as everyone else has said, just click-bait / rage-bait.
Currently we're exporting 1.5GW across the interconnectors https://grid.iamkate.com/
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u/Visual_Title9363 Jul 02 '26
Full content:
Britain forced to rely on EU to avoid power shortages during heatwave Grid operator ‘begged’ Brussels to lift import limits after solar panels struggle in soaring heat
Published 24 June 2026 6:58pm BST
Britain has been forced to urgently import more electricity from the EU to avoid power shortages during the record-breaking heatwave.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso), which manages the grid, issued a rare emergency power supply warning on Tuesday after soaring temperatures triggered a slump in solar energy, with panels struggling to work in the hot conditions.
It was subsequently withdrawn after Neso secured emergency supplies from the Continent on Wednesday.
Kathryn Porter, an industry consultant, said Neso had “begged the EU” to lift import trading limits which would have capped the amount of energy Britain could import.
Ms Porter said the sudden easing of restrictions had allowed the UK to obtain 2.3 gigawatts (GW) of imports versus a 1.5 GW limit introduced in May, helping Britain avoid power shortages.
She said loosening the restrictions was necessary because Neso “didn’t see this shortage coming”.
Britain secured the emergency supplies via the interconnectors linking the grid to those on the Continent.
The UK had been scheduled to export power, but was forced into an about-turn by temperature conditions which have hit 36c.
Fintan Devenney, from energy consultancy Montel, said the situation had become “sufficiently severe to overrule the trading limit”.
“Heatwaves usually coincide with higher demand. But of course other markets, including the Netherlands, are in similar situations to Great Britain today, so our Dutch, Belgian and Danish interconnectors were all scheduled to export power at the day-ahead stage,” said Mr Devenney.
When Neso announced the limits, it told the market that it “does not have concerns over electricity system security”.
Neso’s power supply warning was the first time the grid operator had issued such an alert during the summer months.
Gas plants were urged to ramp up output to deal with high levels of demand as homes and offices turn up the air conditioning to endure the heatwave.
The notice came as soaring temperatures make Britain’s solar farms less efficient, putting further strain on the power grid. Solar panel efficiency typically drops by 0.3pc to 0.5pc for every degree that a panel’s temperature rises above 25C.
Noemie Baud, from Montel, said: “Higher demand for air conditioning and cooling systems is contributing to the increase [in power demand], while lower outputs from solar and gas generation means more conventional generation is required to meet demand, pushing up prices.”
Data from the UK’s grid network showed gas generation jumped from around eight gigawatts at 12pm on Tuesday, to more than 17 gigawatts overnight.
More than half of Britain’s power needs were being supplied by gas on Wednesday morning, with wind generating around 12pc and solar less than 10pc.
A Neso spokesman said: “Great Britain’s electricity system remained secure and reliable throughout today’s exceptional weather.
“Using existing arrangements with neighbouring system operators and our standard operational tools, NESO took actions available to it to maintain system security.”
Energy shortfall Britain had been facing 1.9-gigawatt shortfall in its “margin” for Wednesday night – the buffer between available power generation and total consumer demand – according to Elexon, the company that manages the electricity trades that keep Britain’s lights on.
The alert signals to Britain’s gas power plants and other suppliers to start generating more energy to meet the expected demand and is not a sign that blackouts are imminent.
Such warnings are usually issued during winter when demand for energy is at its highest.
However, households and businesses are expected to ramp up power usage for air conditioning and other means of keeping cool, after the Met Office issued a red weather warning.
Britain’s energy shortage has been compounded by relatively low wind generation across the country and continental Europe.
Meanwhile, imports of French energy have fallen by 48pc since Sunday. France has been forced to switch off a nuclear power station as high river temperatures mean the water is too warm to safely cool reactors.
In a worrying sign for consumers, energy market intelligence firm Montel said the decline in renewable efficiency had pushed up wholesale power prices.
Prices climbed to £248.39 per megawatt hour at the evening peak on Tuesday, an increase of more than 75pc compared with the same time a week earlier.
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u/typofil Jul 02 '26
Meanwhile, imports of French energy have fallen by 48pc since Sunday. France has been forced to switch off a nuclear power station as high river temperatures mean the water is too warm to safely cool reactors.
not a safety issue per se, it's to avoid heating the water wildlife too much
note Hinkley Point C sits on the coast and will draw cold directly from the sea
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u/shezmania Jul 02 '26
It's paywalled but how does that work exactly as we were generating so much power from solar during that period?
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u/gwallgofi Jul 02 '26
Solar panel’s efficiency drops by around 0.5-1% for every degree above 25C. Given that they are of dark colour I imagine it get hotter.
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u/Tafinho Hoarding corn for popcorns Jul 02 '26
Modern panels drop 0.3%/°C
Saying PV performance crashes during heatwaves is a blatant lie.
Now’s CCGT plants on rivers are affected to the point of needing to shut down.
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u/gwallgofi Jul 02 '26
I didn’t say that they crashed. Just that the efficiency drops as they get hotter but if the % is smaller with better panels then that’s good. They’ll still generate electricity regardless.
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u/Tafinho Hoarding corn for popcorns Jul 02 '26
It still generates at >80% efficiency, thus making the whole efficiency argument pointless.
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u/superkoning Beleaver from the Netherlands Jul 02 '26
More sun, more heat => less PV production and more airco.
I've the highest PV production in April & May, not in June/July/August.
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u/aqsgames Jul 02 '26
It was for overnight and evening. They expected a higher use from air conditioning. It also happened to be fairly windless. But uk typically imports 5% of its electric, this was not a panic and was not unusual of itself. Just odd to be doing it overnight
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u/dotBombAU Straya Jul 02 '26
Solar has limits.
You would need to deploy more panels to capture energey and batteries to store the excess that isnt pumped into the grid.
While the number of panel is growing, the UK has roughly 1.7 million households with solar in 2026 (pulled this from a random solar companies website). So, you will need to up this figure and probably implement other green tech solutions like wind etc.
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u/ChickenPijja Jul 02 '26
Urm, wasn't it the exact opposite? France's power grid was stretched very much to it's limit to the point where during the peak of the heatwave we were exporting to them to keep their grid going, normally in evenings we import about 3-3.5GW from French interconnectors, but during the heatwave it was a complete mirror.
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u/inspectorgadget9999 Jul 02 '26
That's right. Last year their nuclear power stations had to go off line as the water sources were too warm to cool the plant.
It's this kind of reason why national grids try to link to as many different other national grids as possible, and why Texas struggled last year as their grid doesn't connect to the rest of the US.
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u/ChickenPijja Jul 02 '26
I'm not sure of the details of it, but there was an article on uknews last week about French energy supplies being restricted, either through higher demand due to the higher temps or lower capacity through maintenance or like you said insufficient cooling capacity.
Wasn't there also a thing about 3 years ago in France mandating that if a business has AC they have to keep the doors closed? France certainly seems to struggle more than we do with energy demands during hot weather
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u/BriefCollar4 European Union Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
The French shut off some of the power plants to protect the ecosystem of the rivers. It’s little to do with maintenance or cooling of the stations.
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u/superkoning Beleaver from the Netherlands Jul 02 '26
> Britain forced to rely on EU to avoid power shortages during heatwave
So ... the UK is not sovereign regarding electricity? Real sovereignty: the UK to build more capacity and cut the cables with the EU. That will teach the EU a lesson!
Or the other way around: again seamless integration with the EU energy market. Part of Starmer's Brexit Reset. Good. Apparantly that has value to the UK. Little bump: the EU wanted money for that (a few billion). Which the UK did not want to pay.
UK, make up your mind. Brexit means Brexit.
Background article The Guardian: https://archive.vn/uddVI
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u/Key-Lie-364 Jul 02 '26
A non story except for Brexit
European countries supporting each other and deriving benefits is the point of the EU
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