Scottish grid constraint costs up 38% this year, NIA analysis of NESO data finds

Soaring system costs – which create no jobs or power - hitting households and businesses across Scotland

NIA calls for new, price-predictable, baseload nuclear capacity to boost Scottish energy security and stabilise bills

Scots paid electricity generators £121 million in constraint payments in September, as the gap widens between Scotland’s reliance on variable power and the need for firm, baseload power according to new analysis from the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA).

Figures from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) show that constraint payments in Scotland between January and September this year have reached £770 million – 38% higher than the same period last year which totalled £560 million – putting the country on course to exceed £1 billion in costs by the end of 2025. These costs are ultimately passed on to households and businesses in their energy bills.

Constraint payments are made when electricity generators are asked to reduce output because the grid cannot transport the power to where it is needed. Payments have remained consistently high as Scotland’s firm power capacity has declined, following the closure of Hunterston B in 2022.

For more than 45 years, Hunterston B provided reliable, low-carbon electricity directly to the Scottish grid, helping to stabilise supply and reduce the need for costly grid balancing. Since its closure, Scotland has become more dependent on intermittent output and electricity imports from England during still days.

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said:

“Scottish consumers are spending hundreds of millions of pounds every year on energy system costs that create no jobs, generate no power, and deliver no long-term value – while proven nuclear technology that could do all three is being ignored.

“Instead of dismissing an industry that has supported Scottish jobs, clean power and the climate for decades, Ministers could show real leadership by backing new nuclear projects here in Scotland – developments that would revitalise its industrial heartlands, provide secure, low-carbon power 24/7 and deliver lasting economic prosperity.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

  1. NESO publishes monthly totals of Scottish constraint payments and UK-wide balancing costs: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/balancing-costs
  2. Torness, Scotland’s last remaining nuclear power station, comes offline in March 2030. It has saved 101 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, enough to power every home in Scotland for 29 years.
  3. Hunterston B nuclear power station closed in January 2022 after more than 45 years of service, generating enough electricity over its lifetime to power every home in Scotland for 31 years.
  4. The Welsh Government has signed an MOU with the Sizewell C Consortium that could bring up to £900 million in investment and 4,700 jobs to Wales. No such MOU currently exists in Scotland.
  5. The UK currently has nine reactors across five sites providing around 14% of the country’s electricity from 5.9 GW of capacity. Of the current fleet, only Sizewell B will remain in operation after March 2030. Hinkley Point C is due online by the end of the decade.
  6. Photo Credit: Photo by Jordan Cormack on Unsplash

About the NIA
As the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, the Nuclear Industry
Association represents over 300 companies across the UK’s nuclear supply chain.

Links
Visit our website: https://www.niauk.org/
Follow the NIA on X @NIAUK and LinkedIn

For further information, please contact:
Iolo James
Head of Communications
[email protected]g
+447517108023

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