Great Britain’s grid operator warns again over power supplies in heatwave

Neso asks generators to provide extra electricity on Friday evening to meet demand from fans and air conditioning Great Britain’s energy system operator raised the alarm over electricity supplies for the second time this week as the heatwave continued to test Europe’s energy markets. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued a notice late on Thursday asking generators to provide any extra electricity possible on Friday evening to help meet rising demand as households turn on air conditioners and electric fans to cope with the heat. By Friday afternoon it had struck a deal to pay £200 per megawatt-hour to import enough electricity from the continent to power the equivalent of 3m typical UK homes, a rate that is almost three times the average power price in June last year. The operator said it issued the call for extra power supplies because its forecasts showed “tight margins on the electricity system” for Friday evening due to “the impact of extremely high temperatures affecting Great Britain and the continent”. The government-owned body added that the electricity supply was not at risk, indicating that a blackout was not imminent. The market warning was the se