An article featured in The Telegraph, picked up by Yahoo News, carried the headline "Solar power threatens to overwhelm electricity grid". GB News and The Daily Express carried similar alarming headlines in their reporting of the announcement.
The measures announced by the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO), under its Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), introduced during the winter of 2022/23, would involve payments to homeowners and businesses to consume any excess power during periods of excess supply, accompanying a policy of switching off larger generators.
NESO does not have any concern about security of supply this year, and carefully explained in depth the reasons for the introduction of the new measures.
However, the announcement warned that large amounts of solar power coupled with periods of low demand have been making the grid more difficult to manage. These gluts of power need to be counterbalanced if they are to avoid causing power blackouts.
"The potential for periods of surplus electricity has been a growing trend over recent years" said the operator in its announcement. "Since 2019 we’ve been redesigned how we manage Great Britain’s national electricity network, putting tools in place to manage the system and keep it secure when spikes in demand occur or when electricity supplies from lower carbon sources are abundant. These tools include a suite of new services providing the system stability and voltage support traditionally provided by power stations. By using smaller, flexible technologies to deliver these services – including wind farms, solar and batteries – we’re able to fine tune supply and demand and maintain security at the same or lower cost than before. Growth of renewable generation at both national and local levels, combined with favourable expectations for electricity needs in Europe, means that there will be periods where electricity supply exceeds demand this summer.
"These periods of excess electricity will be efficiently managed using new tools, ensuring the system remains resilient and that surplus electricity isn’t wasted. To be absolutely clear, we’re confident that we have the right tools and operational strategies in place to manage the electricity system this Summer. Where necessary, we may issue a Negative Reserve Active Power Margin (NRAPM) notice. This is a standard operational measure, informing the energy market that they will need to be more flexible in how they produce electricity, to provide our control room with additional options for balancing supply and demand. As ever, we’ll continue to monitor risks closely and work with strategic partners to ensure the electricity system remains resilient. Preparations for Winter 2026/27 system operation are already underway. NESO will share an Early View of Winter 2026/27 report with the industry in Summer."
Naked Energy CEO Christophe Williams said in response to the reports by The Telegraph, GBNews, The Daily Express and LBC that while concerns are mounting about solar power overwhelming the UK grid, the bigger picture has to be considered in that we should recognise that the problem isn’t too much renewable energy but that the grid itself was never designed for a decentralised, electrified, energy system.
“Encouraging more people to use electricity at off-peak times won't change the fact that the grid alone cannot carry the weight of net zero” said Mr Williams. “The National Grid currently projects that upgrades to the grid infrastructure will cost £35 billion over the next five years. With connection queues stretching years and critical equipment like transformers in short supply, it’s clear that encouraging off-peak usage won't solve this issue in the long-term. That’s why we need to think beyond the grid. “Grid-edge” technologies like solar thermal allow businesses to generate and store energy on-site, without adding pressure to already constrained networks. Every KWh of energy that is supplied through grid-edge technology is a KWh of demand taken off the grid. We need a more balanced approach. That means investing not only in grid expansion, but in distributed energy systems that work alongside it, reducing demand, cutting costs and accelerating the transition in a way the current infrastructure simply can’t deliver on its own.”
Naked Energy is a British design and engineering business, leading the global innovation in solar thermal and solar PVT. Naked Energy’s solar thermal collectors, paired with advanced software, are transforming heat for businesses and industry.
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