Neso warns of tight UK power margins as heatwave drags on
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- Neso issued an electricity margin notice for Thursday evening's peak, citing "extreme temperatures across Europe" reducing generation availability, but stressed there is "no risk to customer electricity supplies"
- EDF warned output could be curbed at up to five French nuclear plants as river water used for reactor cooling heats up, starting by running only two reactors at reduced production this week
- Southern England is forecast to hit 34C Thursday; the heatwave is expected to last more than 10 days, making it the UK's third of the year
- Neso issued similar pleas during last month's heatwave, when a provisional UK June record of 37.7C was recorded at Lingwood, Norfolk on June 27 — smashing the 35.6C mark set in 1976
- Western Europe is enduring its third heatwave in six weeks; France has seen 35,400 hectares burn and Spain 55,128 hectares scorched, according to the European Forest Fire Information System
- Neso framed the notice as a "routine tool," though it raises the prospect of the operator again paying above-average prices to gas power plants to meet demand from fans and air conditioning
Why it matters: Britain's grid is no longer just exposed to domestic heat-driven demand spikes — it now depends on continental generation that is itself buckling under the same heatwave. With EDF flagging curbs at up to five nuclear reactors (plants that regularly export power to the UK), gas-fired stations may once again need to run at above-market rates to fill the gap, raising short-term wholesale costs during a heatwave expected to drag on more than 10 days.
