Britain is at the lowest risk of winter blackouts it has been at any time in the past six years, the national power grid operator has said.
Not since the pre-pandemic winter of 2019-20 has the risk been this low, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) said.
This is thanks to increased battery capacity to store and deploy excess energy from wind farms, and a new undersea power cable to Ireland, commissioned in April.
The expected margins between supply and demand are now about three more gas plants than last year, NESO said.
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Renewable energy overtakes coal for the first time
It also comes as Britain and the world hit new records for green energy.
For the first time, renewable energy produced more global electricity than coal in the first half of 2025, while in Britain a record 54.5% of electricity came from renewables like solar and wind in the three months to June.
More renewable energy can mean lower bills, as there is less reliance on volatile oil and gas markets, which remained high after the invasion of Ukraine and the West’s attempt to wean off Russian fossil fuels.
“Renewables are driving wholesale electricity prices down by up to a quarter,” said Jess Ralston, an energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank.
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During a recent winter, British coal-fired power stations were ready to meet capacity constraints when cold weather increased demand, the weather nevertheless caused supply to fall because the wind was not blowing.
These plants have since been decommissioned.
But everything may not be simple…
However, there will be “tense” days, NESO said.
On such occasions, NESO will ask electricity suppliers to increase their production.
The times when Britain is most likely to experience supply constraints are early December or mid-January, the network manager said.
NESO was owned by National Grid, a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but was acquired by the government for £630 million in 2023.