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National Grid ESO Stability Pathfinder contracts to deliver over £14bn in savings

4C Offshore | Tom Russell
By: Tom Russell 29/11/2022 National Grid ESO
National Grid ESO has, through Phase 3 of its NOA Stability Pathfinder procurement process, has awarded new contracts in an effort to deliver long-term stability for the national electricity network. The new contracts aim to held ESO operate the network with zero-carbon by 2025 and set up the UK to deliver a net-zero electricity system from 2035.

ESO claims these contracts will provide £14.9bn in savings between 2025 and 2035 by using these new solutions to replicate and replace the actions the ESO needs to take today.

Following a tendering process, the ESO has agreed contracts with six companies to deliver new stability services across England and Wales as part of a third phase of stability pathfinders to redefine how the network operates. They include Conrad Energy, Green Frog Power, RWE, Statkraft, WP Grid Services and Offshore transmission owner (OFTO) Transmission Investment Holdings.

These stability services are currently provided by synchronous generation, such as fossil fuel power stations who provide these stability outputs alongside the generation of electricity.

These contracts will help the ESO deliver alternative methods to produce the stability outputs of inertia, short-circuit level (SCL) and dynamic reactive power that are necessary for maintaining the optimal operation of the national electricity network.

Julian Leslie, ESO Head of Networks, said: "These new contracts represent a major milestone in delivering a low-carbon network for the future and will help support the delivery of our 2025 ambition to be able to operate the network at zero-carbon.

"These contracts demonstrate the type of savings that can be made and the importance of investing in net-zero now in order to unlock benefits for consumers for the future."


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