For a power plant due to be mothballed amid a long-term plan to abandon electricity generation from coal, West Burton A weathered last winter surprisingly well. And following a letter from secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy Kwasi Kwarteng to its owner EDF Energy telling them it would need to be on standby for a while longer, it is probably going to have another good winter.
Amid generation shortages in the winter of 2021, the electricity system operator (ESO) arm of National Grid was forced to call West Burton A back into action to the point that for a while it would match wind generation: 5.5 per cent of the nation’s electricity mix. Though it was the lack of wind that made the headlines, according to the spring 2022 Energy Trends report published by Kwarteng’s department BEIS, the revived dash for gas during late 2021 also had its roots in the problems facing the ageing nuclear fleet as well as decisions by fossil-fuel extractors...