Overview
- Neso sought up to 2.3GW of emergency imports and paid nearly £1,400 per megawatt hour on Wednesday, a price roughly 15–17 times normal wholesale rates that added about £11 million to consumer bills.
- The operator issued an electricity margin notice for 700MW of extra generation for the 7pm–10pm peak on Friday and said the request is a routine buffer that does not mean supply is currently at risk.
- Record June heat raised peak demand while reducing some domestic output because very high temperatures cut solar efficiency, wind output fell and several nuclear and gas units were offline or constrained.
- The system has relied on imports for around 13% of supply and Neso had to secure special dispensation from European counterparts after some countries limited exports to protect their own grids.
- Analysts say Neso underestimated the demand surge by as much as 3GW, a shortfall that has intensified scrutiny of its forecasting and could push more short‑term balancing costs on to consumers while prompting calls to review maintenance timing and preparedness.