UK's National Grid cancels standby notices for two coal units despite cold snap

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A person takes pictures of frosty tree in Bushy Park in London, Britain December 11, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's National Grid (LON:NG) on Monday cancelled standby notices for two coal units of Drax Group (LON:DRX), a few hours after issuing the requests, as a cold snap gripped the country but high nuclear output and wind speeds reduced the chance of energy shortages.

Heavy snowfall blanketed parts of Britain, disrupting airports, train networks and roads in London, with the Met Office warning of cold weather to persist until Dec. 16.

Earlier on Monday, the grid operator issued start-up notices for two 570 MW coal plants — Drax 5 and 6 - in Yorkshire, the notices on Elexon's website said. Elexon is a wholly-owned but operationally independent subsidiary of National Grid Energy System Operator (NGESO).

The notification was not a confirmation that these units would be used on Monday, but to be available if required, the grid operator said.

However, national grid cancelled this in a mid-day standby notice for both coal units, according to Elexon's website.

National grid had said in its earlier notice that "the public should continue to use energy as normal".

National Grid signed contracts in August with Drax Group and EDF (EPA:EDF) to extend the life of four coal-fired power units, saying the contracts are intended to be used when all commercial options have been exhausted within the balancing mechanism.

Meanwhile, the UK's nuclear fleet was running at its full available capacity for the first time this winter as the Hartlepool 1 reactor returned after a planned outage at the weekend, EDF Energy said.

Britain's National Grid said it does not expect disruption to customer energy supplies despite cold weather driving up demand, the executive director of its Electricity System Operator said.

"We have enough supplies secured through the rest of the day that we can manage that and ensure that there is no disruption to customer supplies," Fintan Slye told BBC Radio.

Peak wind generation in the UK was forecast at around 19 gigawatts (GW) for Monday, Elexon data showed, out of a total metered capacity of more than 22 GW. Lower wind power output can mean higher demand for gas for power generation.

Elsewhere in Europe, concerns over French electricity demand eased on Monday after nuclear power supply reached higher levels over the weekend, hydro power ramped up, and strong imports were recorded from neighbouring countries.

Temperatures fell below zero degrees Celsius in the Paris region in the early hours of Monday, causing demand to rise above 80 gigawatts (GW) during peak morning hours - the first time it has reached that level this winter.

Finland is preparing for the possibility of power cuts during cold snaps this winter, having stopped electricity imports from Russia over the Ukraine invasion and facing persistent technical problems at its new domestic nuclear power plant.