The UK is currently producing more than the demand. The excess is going into pumped storage and a bit of export.

I suspect we are often burning gas as a "spinning reserve" rather than because we need the power.

April 11, 2026 - 10:19 UTC

1
0
0
Yes and also grid inertia - stability.
1
0
1
Right now (14.45) the UK is producing 114% of demand.

2.2Gw (7. 6%) of that is gas, which implies we don't need the gas plants except for reserve/stability.

The former could ultimately be provided by batteries and the latter by methods other than burning gas (eg synchronous condenser)
0
0
1