[Kizzy]

'National Grid burst through all but one of its “safety nets” and spent millions of pounds on Wednesday as it sought to prevent power shortages.
The electricity transmission firm was forced to call on a range of tools available to it when power reserves run low.

National Grid spent at least £2.5m after issuing a notice of inadequate system margin (NISM) on Wednesday afternoon asking power companies to provide more electricity. It paid Severn Power about £2,500 per megawatt hour to provide an extra 500MW for two hours.

National Grid also used one of two new powers designed to prevent the risk of power cuts. These have already cost the National Grid £36.5m to put in place – adding 50p to the average annual household energy bill – but incur extra costs when called upon.'

Can't blame the miners this time, and we pay enough for energy already so watts the problem?...

http://www.theguardian.com/business/...ower-shortages