Ofgem looks to crack down on firms ‘manipulating’ electricity market
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 9:17 am
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... GTUK_email
Which bears out what I just said in the Graig Fatha thread...The energy regulator Ofgem is preparing to crack down on UK power firms to prevent them from “manipulating” the market with a manoeuvre that has bolstered their profits by millions of pounds.
The practice, which does not break existing market rules, involves generators warning the electricity system operator that they are turning their power plants off at times of peak demand and subsequently offering to keep them running in exchange for a “balancing” payment.
In some cases, the electricity system operator, which is owned by National Grid, has been left with little option other than to make payments of significantly above the market price to keep power plants from turning off and avoid the risk of winter blackouts.
The balancing payments, which are passed on to consumers in the form of higher bills, add up to millions of pounds. An analysis by Bloomberg claims some power plants have received £525m in extra revenue from using the “off-on manoeuvre” between 2018 and 2022.
etc...