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| OCTOBER 2022 | UTILITY WEEK
Generation
Analysis
Encore for Old King Coal
The squeeze on gas prices caused by war
in Ukraine will likely pave the way for
a last hurrah for coal generation,
but a reprieve is unlikely
to outlast the winter.
T
he trilemma – the balance between
affordability, security and sustain-
ability – has been the closest that UK
energy policy has had to a guiding principle
over the past decade.
However, when push comes to shove,
some elements of the trilemma are more
equal than others, argues Malcolm
Grimston, senior research fellow at Univer-
sity of London's Imperial College.
"Security trumps all, with economics
probably second and environment a long
way behind," he says, adding it is "abso-
lutely clear" that "severe interruptions" to
supply would be "politically disastrous" for
whichever party is in government.
That has played out over the past year,
with already spiralling gas prices com-
pounded by the war in Ukraine, leading to
questions over security of supply.
The clearest manifestation of this shi„
can be seen in the renewed enthusiasm for
nuclear power and the extended encore coal
is enjoying as a source of generation.
Until this year, it looked like the UK's sur-
viving coal plants would not even stay open
until 2024 when the government has said
they must be phased out.
This time last year, the UK government
made getting rid of coal generation one of
its key goals at the Glasgow COP26 climate
change conference.
But this summer saw Drax, EDF and Uni-
per all sign contracts with the National Grid
Electricity System Operator (ESO), which
will keep three coal-fired plants open for
back-up power during the winter.
Uniper also put on hold plans to decom-
mission one of the four 500MW units at its
Ratcliffe plant in Nottinghamshire at the end
of last month.
Josh Buckland, a former special adviser
