Overview
- Neso issued an Electricity Margin Notice for Monday morning after forecasting a system margin shortfall of about 1,388 megawatts between 06:00 and 11:00, then cancelled the notice shortly after 09:00 when the margin improved.
- Weak wind across Europe was the main driver of the tighter margin, showing how weather-dependent renewables can leave short-term gaps in supply.
- Market participants made extra generation available and Neso’s successive updates reduced the shortfall from roughly 1,388MW to about 800MW, then to 500MW and about 200MW before cancellation.
- Securing extra power during the episode involved costly emergency measures, with independent reporting citing import prices paid at thousands of pounds per megawatt-hour and high fees to start gas-fired plants.
- Neso stressed the EMN was a precaution and there was no risk to customer supplies; the episode underlines ongoing operational scrutiny and the potential for higher system charges to feed into household bills.