National Grid to give evidence to Lords investigating long-term electricity supply
A Lords inquiry looking into the resilience of the electricity system continues next week with evidence from energy networks specialists.
On Tuesday 4 November the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee will hear from National Grid, which this week warned that electricity margins have decreased compared to previous years, due to planned generator closures and breakdowns.
The evidence sessions will focus on the issue of balancing demand and supply in the short and medium term, as the Committee's inquiry into electricity resilience continues.
In the first of two evidence sessions, starting at 10.40am, the committee will question Mike Calviou, Director of Transmission Network Service, National Grid and Tony Glover, Director of Policy, Energy Networks Association.
Then at 11.40am the witnesses giving evidence will be Professor Keith Bell, Scottish Power Professor of Smart Grids, University of Strathclyde, representing the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC); Professor David Newbery, Director of the Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG), Cambridge University, Research Fellow at Imperial College London, and a Member of the Panel of Technical Experts for DECC on National Grid's Electricity Capacity Report; and Professor Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Policy, University College London.
- Questions that the Committee will put to the witnesses include:
To what extent will a further squeezed capacity margin affect the resilience of the electricity system? - How is the system designed to cope with unexpected power station outages?
- In what way will the Capacity Market ensure security of electricity supply?
- How will climate change affect the resilience of transmission and distribution?
The Committee evidence sessions will take place at 10.40am and 11.40am in Committee Room 1 in the House of Lords, on Tuesday 4 November.
