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