Electricity sector in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a National Grid that covers most of mainland Great Britain and several of the surrounding islands, as well as some connectivity to other countries. The electrical sector supplies power to consumers at 230 volts (-6%, +10%) AC with a frequency of 50 Hz. In 2020 the electricity sector's grid supply came from 55% low-carbon power (including 24.8% from wind, 17.2% nuclear power, 4.4% solar, 1.6% hydroelectricity, 6.5% biomass), 36.1% fossil fuelled power (almost all from natural gas), and 8.4% imports. Renewable power is showing strong growth, while fossil fuel generator use in general and coal use in particular is shrinking, with historically dominant coal generators now mainly being run in winter due to pollution and costs, and contributed just 1.6% of the supply in 2020.
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Electricity coverage | 100% (91.8% grid 2017) |
| Continuity of supply | 99.9999% |
| Installed capacity | 75.8 GW (2020) |
| Production (2021) | 310 TWh (2021) |
| Share of fossil energy | 42.65% (2021) |
| Share of renewable energy | 39.32% (2021) |
| GHG emissions from electricity generation (2020) | 181 t CO2 per GWh |
| Average electricity use (2009) | 5,958 kWh/person |
| Transmission & Distribution losses (2017) | 7.5% |
| Institutions | |
| Responsibility for regulation | Office of Gas and Electricity Markets |
| Responsibility for policy-setting | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Electricity sector law | Electricity Act 1989 |
The use of electricity declined 9% from 2010 to 2017, attributed largely to a decline in industrial activity and a switch to more energy efficient lighting and appliances. By 2018 per capita electrical generation had fallen to the same level as in 1984.
In 2008 nuclear electricity production was 53.2 TW·h, equivalent to 860 kWh per person. In 2014, 28.1 TW·h of energy was generated by wind power, which contributed 9.3% of the UK's electricity requirement. In 2015, 40.4 TW·h of energy was generated by wind power, and the quarterly generation record was set in the three-month period from October to December 2015, with 13% of the nation's electricity demand met by wind. Wind power contributed 15% of UK electricity generation in 2017 and 18.5% in the final quarter of 2017. In 2019, National Grid announced that low-carbon generation technologies had produced more electricity than fossil generators for the first time in Britain.