UK electricity grid, live
where Britain's power is coming from right now
updated , refreshes every 5 minutes
as of 08:05
Britain is drawing 37.80 GW right now. Gas has the biggest share at 42%, and 43% of generation is renewable.
- Carbon intensity is 178 g/kWh, which counts as high. Cleanest stretch ahead 08:30 to 10:30, dirtiest 06:00 to 08:00.
- The system is relaxed (14/100): plenty in reserve, frequency steady, price above average.
- Undersea cables are sending a net 1.6 GW abroad. The largest single flow is 1.4 GW coming in from Norway.
Power flow right now
live, all of Britain in one tank
the numbers
| What | Direction | MW |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | in | 12,252 MW |
| Solar | in | 701 MW |
| Nuclear | in | 5,127 MW |
| Gas | in | 16,379 MW |
| Biomass | in | 3,305 MW |
| Hydro | in | 461 MW |
| Other | in | 675 MW |
| NSL (Norway) | in | 1,400 MW |
| ElecLink (France) | out | 535 MW |
| East-West (Ireland) | out | 527 MW |
| IFA (France) | out | 22 MW |
| Greenlink (Ireland) | out | 514 MW |
| IFA2 (France) | out | 404 MW |
| Moyle (N. Ireland) | out | 249 MW |
| Nemo (Belgium) | out | 296 MW |
| Viking (Denmark) | out | 410 MW |
| Homes and industry | out | 37,325 MW |
Carbon intensity: how clean it is
gCO₂ per kWh, past and next 24h
Cleanest window ahead 08:30 to 10:30, around 178 g/kWh.
- Day-ahead forecast
- Actual
- Forecast
the numbers
Day-ahead forecast typically off by about 35 g/kWh (last 30 days)
under about 100 g counts as low, over 200 as high
More on carbon intensity →Generation mix: what is generating
last 24 hours, GW
the numbers
- Wind32%
- Solar2%
- Nuclear13%
- Gas42%
- Biomass9%
- Hydro1%
- Other2%
Pumped storage is refilling its reservoirs, taking 18 MW off the grid.
solar and some wind sit on local networks with no live meter, so those two come from NESO's half-hourly estimate
More on the generation mix →Grid stress: how much strain
0 calm, 100 strained
- Spare margin (40%)16.1 GW spare, after breakdowns0
- Price (30%)£213/MWh46
- Frequency (20%)21 mHz off 50, five-minute average0
- Import reliance (10%)1.6 GW net export0
each bar is how hard that factor is pushing, 0 to 100
How the stress score works →Grid frequency: how steady it is
system frequency, last hour
54 mHz below 50, well inside the normal band.
the numbers
more supply than demand pushes it above 50. NESO keeps it within 0.2 Hz either side
More on grid frequency →Interconnectors: undersea cables
megawatts per interconnector
blue flows in, orange flows out
More on interconnectors →Electricity imports by country
share of electricity imported, by country, last 12 months
the numbers
- France51%
- Norway18%
- Denmark13%
- Netherlands9%
- Belgium8%
- Ireland (all-island)1%
GB sent 6,855 GWh to Ireland (all-island) and took 265 GWh back.
each band is that country's slice of whatever GB imported that month
More on imports and interconnectors →Electricity demand vs forecast
GW, last 48 hours and the day ahead
- Day-ahead forecast
- Demand
- Forecast
the numbers
Day-ahead forecast typically off by about 1.8 GW (last 30 days)
dashed over the past is what was forecast a day before. this is grid-level demand, so rooftop solar is not counted
More on demand →Wholesale electricity price
£ per MWh, half-hourly market price
the numbers
market price is what traders paid for power in that half hour. balancing cost is what it took to keep supply and demand level, which the trade calls the imbalance price
More on wholesale prices →Wind and solar forecast
latest forecast, GW
- Wind
- Solar
the numbers
whole of Britain, rooftop solar and embedded wind included
More on the generation mix →Spare capacity: room to spare
spare capacity, next 24 hours
the numbers
what could still be generated beyond demand, after allowing for breakdowns. the official name is de-rated margin
More on demand and spare capacity →About this page
This page shows Great Britain's electricity grid, the National Grid as most people call it, as it runs: how much power is being used, which sources are making it, how much carbon each kilowatt-hour carries, what wholesale power costs, and how much is flowing through the undersea cables to Europe and Ireland. Most figures update every five minutes to half an hour, straight from Elexon, NESO and the Carbon Intensity API. See about and sources for how each number is made.
The National Grid is the network of pylons and cables that carries power around the country. National Grid plc owns the wires in England and Wales, and NESO, the National Energy System Operator, balances supply and demand on it minute by minute. The live figures here come from NESO and Elexon, the body that settles the wholesale market.
Looking for household prices? Octopus Agile prices today and the cheapest time to use electricity follow the same grid: windy, low-demand hours are the cheap ones.