David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many of gigawatts of diesel generating capacity the National Grid has on standby for demand spikes; whether her Department is planning for more diesel generation to be so available; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid currently has approximately 0.6GW of diesel generation contracted in Short Term Operating Reserve – STOR – the key balancing service used to manage fluctuations in demand.

STOR is procured by National Grid and Government is not involved in this process. However, Government is aware of concerns regarding the growth of diesel generators, and with this in mind Defra will consult later this year on options which will include legislation that would set binding emission limit values on relevant air pollutants from diesel engines.