Grid supplied electricity demand this summer will be the lowest on record

Interesting stat reported in the FT regarding grid supplied electricity demand. The paper reports that peak demand this summer will be the lowest on record and some generators, including utility scale wind farms will be asked to reduce output during the summer months.

The cause of this is the increased output from solar panels which generate electricity which is consumed at site and which replaces units which would previously be purchased from the grid. This is great news for our customers because they are meeting their daytime demand with electricity which costs them around 5p/kWh compared to over 10p from the grid suppliers.  

That there is clearly a surplus of electricity being generated at peak times also augers well for the take up of localised battery storage; rather than stopping wind turbines generating when demand is low, the grid suppliers should take that energy into the grid and offer it at much cheaper rates to customers with battery storage and electric cars. This in turn will reduce demand on the grid at times of reduced generation and remove the need for additional capacity.  

It seems that we already have plenty of electricity. We just need to find a way to balance generation and demand which are currently mis-matched.

You can read the FT’s report here

And you can find out how your company can join those other firms who are producing their own electricity at half the price of power from the grid here….