Britain’s electricity grid operator has asked two of its coal-fired power stations to start warming up as freezing weather conditions heap pressure on the UK’s power network.
National Grid said it had asked the winter “contingency” plants to prepare for operation to “give the public confidence in Monday’s energy supply”.
It said the move means the coal-fired stations can be used as “tools for additional contingency” as needed to allow the network to run as usual and stressed that people “should continue to use energy as normal”.
The UK faces its biggest test yet with the current cold snap—which has seen the country suffer freezing temperatures and snow in many areas—ramping up demand for power at a time when supplies are tight….