Connah’s Quay power station owners bag more than £6m to supply just three hours of electricity

Connah’s Quay gas power station received a windfall of more than £6m for supplying electricity during Wednesday evening peak, as freezing weather triggered one of Britain’s highest power price surges since the start of the energy crisis.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso), responsible for managing the electricity supply across Britain, faced a shortfall of 1,700 megawatts (MW) – enough to power 850,000 homes – during the early evening.

To bridge the gap, Neso turned to energy companies, including Uniper, which operates the Connah’s Quay gas plant, to bolster the national grid.

Uniper agreed to generate electricity for £2,900 per megawatt hour (MWh), more than 50 times higher than typical prices earlier this week.

This enabled the Deeside power plant to earn Uniper just over £6m during the three-hour period between 4pm and 7pm, according to market data.

The Guardian, which reported on the issue, noted that the Rye House gas plant in Hertfordshire also benefited, earning £6.15m for generating electricity at an even higher rate of £5,000/MWh.

Power prices soared as freezing weather and low wind speeds reduced the availability of renewable energy, forcing the UK to rely more heavily on gas plants.

On Wednesday morning, gas accounted for 53% of Britain’s electricity, while wind power contributed only 18%.

Karsten Walke, a senior data scientist at ICIS, described the payouts as “super-high prices” and cautioned that similar conditions could lead to further price spikes later this week.

Speaking to the Guardian, Walke explained: “Our models show that we don’t have a lot of electricity capacity left in the market; there’s not a lot of wind power available, and there’s a lack of [cable] interconnection with neighbouring countries.”

He added that Britain should prepare for further market price surges by the end of the week, with electricity demand and weak wind power levels expected to remain “more or less the same as today.”

Uniper, the operator of Connah’s Quay power station, and VPI Power, which owns Rye House, were contacted by the Guardian for comment.

While the payouts have raised eyebrows, Neso stressed that such measures are routine in winter and are used to ensure the national grid maintains a healthy electricity supply.