Grid balancing

Keeping electricity supply as closely matched to demand as possible.

National Grid needs to keep generation closely matched to consumer demand across the country at all times, down to the nearest few seconds, to keep the grid stable.

Too little electricity means people will suffer power shortages or blackouts.

Too much electricity destabilises the grid because the system frequency starts to rise - generators start to trip if it deviates too far from the standard 50Hz that we’re all used to.

– The National Grid Balancing Market: What is it and why does it matter?