Reader’s letter: Is Net Zero a rush towards cliff?
In the UK, we have five nuclear power stations which provide reliable ‘baseload’ to our national grid in the same way as Ratcliffe on Trent used to do.
But EDF, the owners have announced their intention to close down four of them (two are scheduled to close in 2026, followed by another two in 2028).
This is serious news.
Ed Miliband has promised to deliver a Net Zero power grid by 2030 but this breakneck pace of change could stretch the grid to the limit and must make it even harder to keep the lights on when wind and solar generation are low.
National Grid has been replaced by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) a nationalised body which will now oversee our electricity grid.
Because of the risk of blackouts when wind and solar generation are both low (a cold frosty night in winter), NESO seems to be turning to households and businesses to help balance the system by a scheme called a ‘demand flexibility service’.
During the recent sale of tickets for the Gallager brothers Oasis concert, the pricing of tickets was variable depending on demand — higher demand, higher prices.
Higher prices for electricity paid through Smart Meters during periods of low energy from the grid might be a similar approach.
If the cost of electricity is higher than normal, what could a user do to reduce costs?
There is a concept in economics known as ‘the elasticity or inelasticity of demand’ which will apply to our electricity supply.
Inelastic demand means that when the price goes up, consumers’ buying habits stay the same, and when the price goes down, consumers’ buying habits also remain unchanged.
Inelastic products are usually necessities without an alternative such as the electricity which people need in their day-to-day lives regardless of its cost.
Rationing by higher price will not reduce the pressure on the grid because the demand for heat is inelastic!
We seem to be rushing towards a situation when shortages of electricity at times of maximum demand, in winter, become more likely and not just a theoretical possibility.
Is Net Zero by 2030 really a sane or sensible policy, or just a gadarene rush towards a cliff? — ROBERT SHEPPARD, Beckingham