Tag: investors

Appointment of new non-executive director

15 November 2017

Investors
RNS Number :5094W
DRAX GROUP PLC
(Symbol: DRX)

The Board of Drax Group plc (“Drax”) is pleased to announce that Nicola Hodson is to be appointed as a Non-Executive Director, with effect from 12 January, 2018.

Nicola served as a Non-Executive Director at Ofgem(1) between January 2015 and July 2017. She is currently Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, Field Transformation at Microsoft(2), having worked with the company in various roles since 2008, including Chief Operating Officer of its UK business and leading its UK public sector business.

Prior to Microsoft(2) she held senior roles at Siemens, CSC, Ernst & Young and British Nuclear Fuels. She has also been a member of TechUK’s(3) Board since 2012 and was previously a board member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) (4) and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection group (CEOP)(5).

Commenting on the appointment, Philip Cox, Chairman of Drax, said:  “The directors are delighted to welcome Nicola to the Board. Her broad experience gained in the technology, business transformation, energy and consulting sectors, across a range of strategy, marketing and change roles will provide real value as Drax delivers on its strategy to help change the way energy is generated, supplied and used in the UK.”

Nicola added: “The energy sector is changing fast so this is an exciting time to be joining Drax’s Board. I believe Drax is well-placed to grow and support the decarbonisation of the UK economy through low carbon generation and fuel sourcing. I am particularly inspired by the prospect of joining a leading challenger-brand which puts customers at the heart of the business and allows them to maximise the opportunities presented by the emerging energy landscape.”

Nicola has also been appointed as a member of the Company’s Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Enquiries:

Drax Investor Relations: Mark Strafford

+44 (0) 1757 612 491

Media:

Drax External Communications: Matt Willey

+44 (0) 1757 612 285

Website: www.drax.com

Notes:

  1. Ofgem is a non-ministerial government department and an independent National Regulatory Authority. Its objective is to protect the interests of electricity and gas consumers by promoting value for money, promoting security of supply and sustainability, supervise markets and competition and regulate government schemes.
  2. Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
  3. TechUK is an organisation that represents its 900 members and drives links with Government.
  4. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online.
  5. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Group (CEOP) works with child protection partners across the UK and overseas to identify the main threats to children and coordinates activity against these threats to bring offenders to account. We protect children from harm online and offline, directly through National Crime Agency led operations and in partnership with local and international agencies.

END

What is an ‘advantaged’ fuel, and why use them?

10 November 2017

Power generation

Drax Power Station produces 17% of the UK’s renewable electricity, but it has a long history as a coal-fired generator. And while today around 70% of Drax’s output is from renewable biomass, there are still instances when coal is used – for example, at times of high demand, such as in the winter months.

Beyond just meeting demand for power, maintaining some operational coal capacity until it can be replaced with more biomass or gas, also allows Drax to offer flexibility and grid stability through ancillary services such as inertia, reactive power and frequency management.

Ensuring these remaining coal units run as efficiently as possible is key to Drax being able to economically provide support services to the grid. And for this, alongside more conventional coals it uses something termed as advantaged fuels.

What are advantaged fuels?

Advantaged fuels are coals outside of Drax’s conventional specification that are slightly more affordable than standard coals. Blending advantaged fuels with standard coal before burning allows generators to remain economical while meeting demand.

At Drax, these include off-specification coal and mine remnants such as pond fines, which are produced from former deep mine sites . These are offered at lower prices than standard fuels because they often have a lower calorific value, meaning they produce less energy when burned, or are difficult to work with and transport.

The benefit, however, is that power stations are able to ramp up generation as well as provide essential system services while remaining economical.

Getting the balance right

Each time an advantaged fuel is used, the right blend must be found depending on how much and what type is being utilised to ensure maximum efficiency and reliability.

This requires coordination across Drax between the fuel procurement team, aiming to source these lower-priced fuels, the materials handling and power generation teams who must quickly understand and resolve any issues surrounding fuel blends and the trading team, responsible for selling into the power market.

The cost savings achieved from using advantaged fuels combined with the highly efficient units Drax Group operates, helps keep costs down and that means lower electricity costs for everyone.

But this doesn’t mean these fuels will be used for the long term. Drax is continuing to decarbonise its power generation business. At Drax Power Station where three of its six power units have been upgraded to low carbon biomass, trials were underway in the spring and summer of 2017 to test a lower cost way of converting one of the three remaining coal units to run on compressed wood pellets. The Selby, North Yorkshire site is currently consulting with its local community on plans to repower one or two coal units to run on another flexible fuel – natural gas. If constructed, the gas power plant could be joined by a large battery storage facility – one which could provide immediate power and system services to the country’s electricity system while the gas turbines power up in the minutes that follow.

Coal’s days in the UK are numbered – and this is certainly a good thing – but while it remains a necessary part of meeting winter demand and balancing the system, advantaged fuels will be key to keeping it an affordable one too.

Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer

27 October 2017

Investors
RNS Number : 7736U
DRAX GROUP PLC
(Symbol: DRX)

Following the recent announcement that Will Gardiner will succeed Dorothy Thompson as Chief Executive Officer of Drax Group from 1 January 2018, the Board is progressing a process to appoint a permanent Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as soon as practicable.

In the meantime, Den Jones has been appointed as Interim CFO of the Group from 1 November 2017 and will work with Will Gardiner to ensure a smooth transition.

Den was previously CFO of Johnson Matthey, a FTSE 100 specialty chemicals company and has held senior and executive positions, including Interim CFO, in BG Group, a major global energy company. He spent the early part of his career in banking and professional services with Citibank and PwC where he held a number of specialist financial management positions.

Enquiries:

Investor Relations:

Mark Strafford

+44 (0) 1757 612 491

Media:

External Communications:

Ali Lewis

+44 (0) 1757 612165

Website: www.drax.com

END

How Drax is boosting jobs and the economy throughout the UK

17 October 2017

Sustainable business

Whether powering homes across Britain or helping stabilise the national grid, Drax Power Station’s impact to our electricity network is far reaching. But it doesn’t stop at generating and supplying power.

A new report by Oxford Economics, commissioned by Drax, has found that in addition to its important role powering Britain, Drax Group also provides an economic boost to areas across the country.

Here are three ways Drax Group contributed to the UK economy in 2016. 

£1.67 billion added to UK GDP

Drax Group contributed an estimated £1.67 billion to UK gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, an increase from £1.24 billion in 2015. Of that figure, £301 million was added directly – as a result of the group’s own activities such as the generating and selling of power.

And while this is an impressive 6.1% increase on 2015, the numbers are even more significant when looking at the benefit beyond the group’s core activities.

In 2016, Drax Group’s spending with external suppliers such as rail freight wagon manufacturer WH Davis and IMServ, which supplies Automated Meter Reading technology to Opus Energy, reached £872 million. A further £36m was spent by these suppliers across their own supply chain to help them provide their services to Drax.

There is an even greater impact when considering how this money filters through employees and suppliers into local retail, leisure and service economies. Something which is especially important when the number of jobs Drax supports is taken into account.

18,500 jobs supported across the country

Drax Group directly employed more than 2,000 people in 2016, but across the country it supports far more – 18,500, a significant increase from the 14,150 of 2015.

These jobs are primarily in high-skilled manufacturing, engineering, construction, IT, professional business services and transport. While 3,650 of these were in Drax Power Station’s native Yorkshire and Humber area, this year saw the group’s overall impact extend much further. 

Opus Energy employees holding meeting in Northampton, 2019

 An impact beyond the ‘Northern Powerhouse’

Roughly a quarter (£419 million) of Drax’s total contribution to UK GDP was generated in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. When the North West and North East were included, the company impacted the northern economy to the tune of £577m and supported over 6,000 jobs.

Yorkshire and the Humber was closely followed by the East of England, the home of Haven Power, which saw the second highest impact – registering more than £200 million contributed in GVA – and London and the East Midlands.

This is thanks in part to the growing activities of Drax Group companies. Both Haven Power and Opus Energy (which became a part of Drax Group in February 2017), are helping the UK move towards a low carbon future by supplying an increasing amount of British companies with renewable power. With offices in Ipswich, Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, Haven Power and Opus Energy highlight how Drax Group businesses are direct drivers for local GDP and employment. Opus Energy supported 1,600 jobs and £130 million in GVA in Wales, while Haven Power contributed £232 million to the East of England.

These numbers are noteworthy, but what makes them all the more significant is how this translates into tax revenue. Operations at Drax Group generated an estimated £327 million for the UK’s public purse – equivalent to the salaries of almost 14,000 nurses or 11,900 teachers.

As the group continues to grow – adding new power generation assets to the national electricity transmission system and helping more businesses use renewable power – Drax can increase its positive impact on the UK’s economy and help to make the country’s low-carbon future a reality more quickly.

To find out more about how Drax has benefited the UK’s economy, visit draximpact.co.uk. The full 2016 report can be downloaded here. Interested in a career at Drax Group? Please visit Careers to find out more.

How electric vehicles will impact global power demand

1 October 2017

Electrification

The future of cars is electric. Globally, governments are laying out plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel-powered cars, while the falling prices of batteries will serve to make the vehicles more affordable to consumers and more profitable for manufacturers.

A recent report by Bloomberg increased its earlier 2016 forecast for electric vehicle (EV) adoption. It now estimates that by 2040, 54% of new car sales and 33% of the global car fleet will be electric.

This vision of the future points to considerably better air quality in urban and roadside environments across the world. But while EVs emit none of the tailpipe fumes of traditional fossil fuel-powered cars, there is still potential for associated emissions depending on how that electricity is generated.

For example, if the growing demand caused by EVs is met with fossil fuels, then ‘well-to-wheel’ emissions are still in play. However, as electricity grids decarbonise and become smarter and more efficient, EVs will become cleaner. Researchers at Imperial College London have shown that in the UK, year-round average emissions from EVs have fallen by half in the last four years thanks to cleaner electricity generation.

What this greater reliance on electricity for transport will certainly do, however, is massively drive up global power demand. Investment will be needed not only in electricity generation but also in smart technology that can allow the charging and, eventually, usage of EVs to be managed efficiently.

The growing demand of EVs

The Bloomberg report states global electricity consumption from EVs is expected to grow from just 6 TWh in 2016 to 1,800 TWh by 2040. While the figure represents a massive increase in the electricity required to power EVs, 1,800 TWh represents just 5% of the projected global power consumption in 2040. By comparison, the UK as a whole consumed just 304 TWh of electricity in 2016.

This clearly highlights the widespread need for global investment in electricity generation on the whole, beyond just what will be required to power EVs. However, the unique challenge EVs pose is less how they recharge but when they will recharge.

Smoothing spikes

Assuming supporting infrastructure and technology progress to enable widespread on-street and home charging, then the demand for electricity to charge EVs will mostly likely come in the evening. This could result in additional pressure being placed on energy generators and national grids due to mass EV charging.

Utilities and regulators will need to implement policies to encourage off-peak charging (for example overnight) and spread out the demand from EVs. One way these spikes will be managed is through ‘time-of-use’ rates to encourage drivers to charge their vehicles at off-peak times to avoid higher electricity bills. However, technological improvements will also help to manage the demand EVs place on energy systems.

Tech solutions

Smart charging tech is one of the most important aspects of this in allowing cities, utilities and consumers to automate vehicle charging at times when overall demand is lower. Storage technology will also play a key role in managing increasing demand on both consumer and operator ends.

Adoption of home power storage systems is expected to grow as fast as solar photovoltaic energy has in recent years, which will enable consumers with home solar arrays to store energy and charge vehicles at times to avoid peak-hour charges. On the supplier end, advancement in storage technology will allow generators to deliver electricity above their usual capacity and meet spikes in demand.

Autonomous vehicles

While the report suggests autonomous vehicles will not have a significant impact over the next decade, the longer-term influence of self-driving vehicles will have direct consequences on demand.

Autonomous cars will be able to drive in a way that is significantly more efficient than humans by driving closer together and interacting with the surrounding city to prevent congestion. With widespread adoption, this greater efficiency would mean cars would use less energy and require less time to recharge.

However, ownership of these types of vehicles will likely be shared, particularity in urban environments, resulting in fewer overall cars on the roads and, ultimately, plateauing or even declining demand from EVs in the 2040s and beyond.

Globally, investment is needed to meet and support the growth of EVs over the next two decades. Governments and businesses must begin to roll out charging infrastructure and clean energy solutions to meet future demand, as well as the smart city technology that will enable the mass adoption and eventual automation of EVs.

Will Gardiner to succeed Dorothy Thompson as Chief Executive of Drax Group

21 September 2017

Investors
RNS Number : 3929R
DRAX GROUP PLC
(Symbol: DRX)

Drax Group plc announces that Will Gardiner, currently Group Chief Financial Officer, is to be appointed as Group Chief Executive with effect from 1 January 2018. The appointment results from Dorothy Thompson’s decision to step down after 12 successful years as Group Chief Executive. Dorothy will leave the Group at the end of 2017.

Will joined Drax as Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Group Board in November 2015. The Board has kept succession planning well under review and his new appointment comes after a thorough selection process involving internal and external candidates.

Drax Chairman, Philip Cox said: “We are delighted Will is to become Chief Executive. He has been a key architect of our new strategy and is a focused, innovative and engaging leader. His appointment is a natural progression after two years working alongside Dorothy developing an ambitious strategy which I am confident will create significant benefits for all Drax’s stakeholders.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Dorothy for her enormous contribution to Drax. She transformed the business during her tenure and leaves the Group in a strong position with a clear strategy that lays the foundations for further success in a changing energy sector.”

Will Gardiner said: “I am thrilled to be appointed as Group Chief Executive at this exciting time for Drax. The changes we are seeing in the UK energy sector are unprecedented and we have an opportunity to thrive while doing the right thing for the UK energy market. Drax’s people have demonstrated repeatedly their ability to deliver transformational change and I’m delighted to be working with them to build on Dorothy’s strong legacy.”

Dorothy Thompson said: “Drax Group plays a strategic role in the UK electricity sector generating around 16% of UK renewable electricity, is a world leader in the production of wood pellets and is a leading challenger brand in the supply of electricity to businesses. I retire knowing the Group is in excellent shape: it has the right strategy, the right team and in Will, the right leader.”

The Board will now commence a process to appoint a new Group Chief Financial Officer and will also review the option to make an appointment on an interim basis. 

No other disclosure obligations arise under paragraphs (1) to (6) of LR 9.6.13 R of the UK Listing Authority’s Listing Rules in respect of Will Gardiner’s appointment as Chief Executive of Drax Group plc.

Enquiries:

Drax Investor Relations:

Mark Strafford

+44 (0) 1757 612 491

+44 (0) 7730 763 949

Media:

Drax External Communications:

Matt Willey

+44 (0) 1757 612 285

+44 (0) 7711 376 087

Website: www.drax.com

Notes:

Will Gardiner joined Drax in November 2015 as Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Group Board. He is currently responsible for Finance, Strategy, and IT Systems.

Prior to joining Drax Will was Chief Financial Officer of CSR plc, a global semiconductor business.  He had previously been a Divisional Finance Director of BSKYB and Chief Financial Officer of Easynet Group plc.

At both CSR and Easynet Will’s focus was on driving transformational change to take advantage of new market opportunities. He is also a non-executive member on the Board of Qardio plc, a wireless medical devices company. Will is also a Trustee of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a London-based charity that supports local journalists and civic activists in areas of crisis and change around the world.

Will graduated from Harvard University with a BA Magna Cum Laude in Russian and Soviet Studies and from Johns Hopkins University with an MA in International Relations. He spent the early part of his career in corporate finance with Citibank and JP Morgan.

END

How artificial intelligence will change energy

20 September 2017

Electrification

At the beginning of 2016, the world’s most sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) beat World Champion Lee Sedol at a game called ‘Go’ – a chess-like board game with more move combinations than there are atoms in the universe. Before this defeat, Go had been considered too complicated for even the most complex computers to beat the top humans.

It was a landmark moment in the development of ever-more sophisticated AI technology. But the future of AI holds more than simply board game victories. It is rapidly finding its way into all aspects of modern life, prompting the promise of a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

One of the areas AI has huge potential is in our energy system. And this could have implications for generators, consumers and the environment.

Artificial intelligence playing traditional board game Go concept

The National Grid gets wise

Earlier this year the UK’s National Grid revealed it’s making headway in integrating AI technology into Britain’s electricity system. It announced a deal with Google-owned AI company (and creator of the Go Champion-beating system) DeepMind which is set to improve the power network’s transmission efficiency by as much as 10%.

One of the National Grid’s most important tasks is maintaining the frequency of Britain’s power networks to within ±1% of 50Hz. Too high a frequency and electrical equipment gets damaged; too low a frequency and you get blackouts. Managing this relies on ensuring electricity supply and demand are carefully balanced. But this is made increasingly difficult with the growing number of intermittent renewables – such as wind and solar – on the grid.

The ability to process massive amounts of information from a wide variety of data points (from weather forecasts to internet searches to TV listings) and create predictive models means AI can pre-empt surges in demand or instances of oversupply. In short, it can predict when the country will need more power and when it will need less.

More than this, it can respond to these fluctuations in sustainable and low-carbon ways. For example, it can automate demand side response, where energy users scale back their usage at peak times for a reward. Similarly, it can automate the purchasing of power from battery systems storing renewable energy, such as those connected to domestic solar arrays.

These solutions, which would see AI help to manage supply and demand imbalances, would ease some grid management pressures, while large thermal generators controlled by human engineers back up such automation with their continuing focus on maintaining grid stability through ancillary services.

The role of the smart city

An undoubtedly large factor in the growing sophistication of AI in the energy space is the amount of energy use data now being captured. And this has much to do with the increasing prevalence of smart devices and connected technology.

Smart meters – which will be offered to every UK home by 2020 – such as Alphabet’s Nest smart thermostat, and start-up Verdigris’s energy conserving Internet of Things (IoT) devices are just a few of the emerging technologies using data to improve individuals’ abilities to monitor and optimise their household energy use.

But at scale, information collected from these devices can be used by AI to help control energy distribution and efficiency across entire cities – and not just at a macro level, but right down to individual devices.

The idea of a central computer controlling home utilities may seem like a soft invasion of privacy to some, but when it comes to the energy-intensive function of charging electric vehicles (EVs), much of this optimisation will be carried out in public on street charge points.

As AI and smart technology continue to grow more sophisticated, it has the potential to do more than just improve efficiency. Instead, it could fundamentally change consumers’ relationships with energy.

Changing consumer relationships with energy

Start-ups in the energy space, such as Seattle-based Drift, are exploring how trends such as peer-to-peer services and automated trading can be enabled through machine AI and give consumers greater control over their energy for a lower price.

The company offers consumers access to its own network of distributed and renewable energy sources. Currently operating in New York, it uses AI to assess upcoming energy needs based on data collected from individual customers and location-specific weather forecasts. It then uses this to buy power from its network of peer-to-peer energy providers, using high-frequency, algorithmic trading to reduce or eliminate price spikes if demand exceeds expectation.

Yet to be operational in the UK, this sort of automation and peer-to-peer energy supply hints at the increasing decentralisation of energy grids, which are moving away from relying only on a number of large generators. Instead, modern grids are likely to rely on a mix of technologies, generators and suppliers. And this means a more complex system, which is precisely why automation from a central AI system could be a positive step.

Not only could it bring about optimisation and efficiency, but it could slash emissions and costs for consumers. This silent automation may not have the same headline-grabbing qualities as beating a world champion in their chosen sport, but its impact to the country could be far greater.

Inertia: the shock absorbers keeping the grid stable

12 September 2017

Power generation

From the comfort of home, it’s easy to assume Britain’s power is run across a consistently calm and stable system. And while this is for the most part true, keeping it this way relies on a set of carefully calibrated and connected tools.

These include frequency response – which keeps all electricity around the country on the same frequency – and reactive power – the quiet force moving electricity around the grid. But there’s another at play, and at least by name, it’s something you’ve probably heard of: inertia.

System inertia is energy stored in spinning plant that slows down the rate at which frequency changes. Rapid changes in frequency can create instability in the system. Think of it like a car – inertia does the same job as shock absorbers in the suspension, smoothing the sudden bumps and potholes, keeping the wheels on the ground to maintain control.

However, the changing nature of Britain’s energy system is creating challenges in ensuring there is enough inertia available for a stable future grid.

The energy system’s shock absorbers

Inertia describes objects’ natural tendency (whether they’re moving or resting) to keep doing what they’re doing until forced to change. For example, when you kick a pebble, forces like friction and gravity prevent it hurtling endlessly off into the distance.

Electricity generation in thermal power stations such as Drax involves many moving parts, none more important than turbines and generators. In a turbine, high pressure steam hits a set of blades which makes it spin. A little like running a fan in reverse. The spinning motion is used to power the generator which is a rotor wound in electrified copper wire, transforming it into an electro magnet. As this magnetic field passes through copper bars surrounding the rotor it generates electricity.

This spinning turbine has inertia. If the fuel powering it is suddenly switched off it will continue to spin until it is stopped either by friction or by force. Every thermal generator in the UK system spins at 3,000 rpm, has inertia, and generates electricity at a frequency of 50 Hz. In the UK, all electricity is generated at the same frequency and crucially needs to remain stable – even deviations of 1% from this can damage equipment and cause blackouts.

Managing frequency is done by managing generation. If demand exceeds supply, frequency falls; too much supply and frequency rises. National Grid closely monitors frequency across the system and automatically instructs power generators like Drax to respond to changes in frequency by dialing up or down generation.

And ensuring this change in generation is done smoothly and instantaneously relies on using inertia. For example, using the inertial forces of spinning generators, power stations are able to respond instantly to requests to alter generation.

So, inertia is important to the stability of the power system. But because of the changing nature of today’s grid, we are facing challenges when it comes to inertia. Many forms of renewable generation aren’t built around spinning turbines. And this means no inertia.

Future Challenges

Renewable sources like the wind turbines currently operational in the UK and solar PV, alongside energy imported from the continent, do not provide inertia to the grid.

This means as the UK moves to decarbonise the energy system and rely on more intermittent and often embedded renewable energy rather than thermal-generated electricity, questions arise over where the grid will get the inertia needed to remain stable.

One possible solution is synthetic inertia. While wind turbines do not contain inherit inertia, modern suppliers are now enabling the machine’s rotating blades to create synthetic inertia, which can add extra power to the grid to support generation loss. Some regions, including Germany and Quebec, now require inertia-generation in turbines as standard.

This can’t be done with solar PV. However, smart grids and improving storage technologies have the potential to deal with a lack of inertia. Batteries, which can absorb electricity when there is an oversupply and then release it again when demand is high, can respond near-instantly to fluctuations to help maintain the grid’s frequency.

There are, of course, renewable sources that offer natural inertia, including hydro, tidal and biomass generation. But as the UK shifts to more renewable energy sources with no naturally occurring inertia, these turbine-based generation methods will be vital in ensuring wider grid stability.  Gas has an important role too, as a lower carbon alternative to coal power and one that will increasingly shift from being the backbone of Britain’s electricity system to playing a supporting, flexible role.

This short story is adapted from a series on the lesser-known electricity markets within the areas of balancing services, system support services and ancillary services. Read more about black start, frequency response, reactive power and reserve power. View a summary at The great balancing act: what it takes to keep the power grid stable and find out what lies ahead by reading Balancing for the renewable future and Maintaining electricity grid stability during rapid decarbonisation.

The silent force that moves electricity

31 August 2017

Power generation

In the early evening of 14th August 2003, New York City, in the midst of a heatwave, lost its power. Offices, stores, transport networks, Wall Street and the UN building all found their lights and phones cut off. Gridlocked streets and a stalled subway system forced millions to commute home on foot while those unable to make it back to the suburbs set up camp around the city.

It wasn’t just the Big Apple facing blackout – what had started with several power lines in Northern Ohio brushing against an overgrown tree had spread in eight minutes to affect eight US states and two Canadian provinces. In total, more than 50 million people were impacted, $6 billion was lost in damages and 12 deaths were reported.

While a software glitch and the outdated nature of the power system contributed to the disaster, the spread from a few high-voltage power lines to the entire North West was caused by a lack of reactive power.

The pump powering electricity

Electricity that turns on light bulbs and charges phones is what’s known as ‘active power’ — usually measured in Watts (W), kilowatts (kW), megawatts (MW) or in even higher units. However, getting that active power around the energy system efficiently, economically and safely requires something called ‘reactive power’, which is used to pump active power around the grid. Reactive power is measured in mega volt amps reactive (MVAr).

It’s generated in the same way as active power by large power stations, but is fed into the system in a slightly different manner, which leads to limitations on how far it can travel. Reactive power can only be effective locally/regionally – it does not travel far. So, across the country there are regional reactive power distributors servicing each local area (imagine a long hose pipe that needs individual pumps at certain points along the way to provide the thrust necessary to transport water).

But power stations aren’t the only source of reactive power. Some electronic devices like laptops and TVs actually produce and feed small amounts of reactive power back into the grid. In large numbers, this increases the amount of reactive power on the grid, and when this happens power stations must absorb the excess.

This is because, although it’s essential to have reactive power on the grid, it is more important to have the right amount. Too much and power lines can become overloaded, which creates volatility on the network (such as in the New York blackout). Too little and efficiency decreases. Think, once again, of the long hose pipe – if the pressure is too great, the hose is at risk of bursting. If the pressure is too low, water won’t travel through it properly.

This process of managing reactive power is, at its heart, one of ensuring active power is delivered to the places it needs to be. But it is also one of voltage control – a delicate balancing act that, if not closely monitored, can lead to serious problems.

Keeping volatility at bay

Across Britain, all electricity on the national grid must run at the same voltage (either 400kV or 275kV – it is ‘stepped down’ from 132kV to 230V when delivered to homes by regional distribution networks). A deviation as small as 5% above or below can lead to equipment being damaged or large scale blackouts. National Grid monitors and manages the nationwide voltage level to ensure it remains within the safe limit, and doing this relies on managing reactive power.

Ian Foy, Head of Ancillary Services at Drax explains: “When cables are ‘lightly loaded’ [with a low level of power running through them], such as overnight when electricity demand is lower, they start emitting reactive power, causing the voltage to rise.”

To counter this, generators such as Drax Power Station, under instruction from National Grid, can change the conditions in their transformers from exporting to absorbing reactive power in just two minutes.

This relies on 24-hour coordination across the national grid, but as our power system continues to evolve, so do our reactive power requirements. And this is partly down to the economy’s move from heavy industry to business and consumer services.

The changing needs for reactive power

“Large industrial power loads, such as those required for big motors, mills or coal mines, bring voltage down and create a demand for more reactive power,” explains Foy. “Now, with more consumer product usage, the demand for active power is falling and the voltage is rising.”

The result is that Drax and other power stations now spend more time absorbing reactive power rather than exporting it to keep voltage levels down. In the past, by contrast, Foy says the power plant would export reactive energy during the day and absorb it at night.

As Britain’s energy system decarbonises, the load on powerlines also becomes lighter as more and more decentralised power sources such as wind and solar are used to meet local demand, rather than large power plants supplying wider areas.

This falling load on the power system increases the voltage and creates a greater need for generators to absorb reactive power from the system. It highlights that while Drax’s role in balancing reactive power has changed, it remains an essential service.

This short story is adapted from a series on the lesser-known electricity markets within the areas of balancing services, system support services and ancillary services. Read more about black start, system inertia, frequency response and reserve power. View a summary at The great balancing act: what it takes to keep the power grid stable and find out what lies ahead by reading Balancing for the renewable future and Maintaining electricity grid stability during rapid decarbonisation.