Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH JULY 2018 | 23 UK ELECTRICITY DEMAND DURING 1990 WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL AGAINST GERMANY A graph showing total UK electricity demand during the 1990 World Cup semi-final against Germany, with spikes at times that viewers turned on their kettles en masse. System operators had to rapidly adjust supply to ensure the lights stayed on. Source: National Grid The top ten TV pick-ups 2,800MW 1990 – World Cup semi, Germany v England (full time) – the equivalent of 933,000 kettles boiling at the same time 2,600MW 1984 – The Thorn Birds 2,570MW 2002 – World Cup, England v Brazil (half time) 2,340MW 2002 – World Cup, Nigeria v England (half time) 2,290MW 2001 – The "who shot Phil Mitchell?" episode of EastEnders 2,200MW 1991 – The Darling Buds of May 2,200MW 1985 – Dallas 2,110MW 2003 – Rugby World Cup Final, England v Australia (half time) 2,100MW 1994 – Coronation Street 2,100MW 1986 – The Colbys National Grid, it drops off the scale, and the same happens if there's too much power and not enough demand. The way forward? Sudden massive power demands from the grid are far from ideal. But although the National Grid has put measures in place to ensure we don't have a nationwide blackout, there are other options. Fire up the diesel generators This involves throwing more power at the grid to deal with sudden surges – it used to be the way in which balancing was dealt with. More recently the country relies more heavily on hydroelectric power. Assign energy slots Give each UK house- hold one minute of the 90-minute game as their "energy window", in which to grab a beer from the fridge or brew a cuppa – manage the power surge by spreading the increased demand over time. But is anyone willing to step forward and tell the country they can only open the fridge once during a match? A story about storage Tonik Energy says this could be the way forward and isn't as implausible as it sounds. It says: "Let UK households' solar and battery technology meet their power (and therefore, refresh- ment) needs – eradicate the problem by not being dependent on the grid at peak demand times. Instead, store your own energy and use it as and when required." A home battery that has been topped up with solar energy reduces the need to use diesel generators, which are costly to both consumers and the environment – as well as making sure no-one misses Gary Lineker's half-time punditry. Demand (MW) 32,000 31,000 30,000 29,000 28,000 27,000 26,000 25,000 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 21:30 20:30 Time (BST) Kick-off Half-time pick-up 1,600MW End of extra time pick-up 1,600MW Full-time pick-up 1,600MW 2,800MW after penalty shoot-out

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