EDF will pay £6 million after the energy regulator discovered it “frequently inflated” the minimum amount of power one of its plants could supply to National Grid, leading the electricity systems operator to purchase too much electricity.
Ofgem found that between September 2017 and March 2020, the UK arm of the French energy giant “regularly sent misleading signals” to National Grid ESO about the capabilities of its West Burton B gas-fired plant in Nottinghamshire. This was in contradiction of energy generation licence obligations.
As a result, “in many cases” National Grid “had to purchase more energy from the plant than needed,” Ofgem said.
EDF said the breach was “inadvertent” and that it has “taken swift action to prevent any reoccurrence.” However, “we should have done better,” a spokesperson for the company said.
For the failings, EDF will pay £6 million into Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund, which supports households in fuel poverty and the development of innovative energy products and services. Ofgem said the firm had “fully cooperated” with its investigation.
Cathryn Scott, director of enforcement and emerging issues at Ofgem, said the action against EDF would send “a strong signal to all energy market participants that they must submit accurate data.”
“If they don’t, we have the powers to intervene and we are ready to use them,” she added.
EDF’s violations were similar to but less serious to those uncovered at InterGen. In April the firm, which operates a string gas-fired power stations, paid £37 million in redress for deliberately sending misleading signals to National Grid about how much energy it would supply during peak hours over four days in the winter of 2016, at a time when the margins between supply and demand were very tight.
Manipulated figures from InterGen made the margins seem even tighter, leading National Grid to pay InterGen high prices to generate during this time. This manipulation of the market yielded the firm nearly £12.8 million, which it repaid alongside a contribution to the redress fund.
